Jerusalem Artichokes

Smallish, thin skinned, light brown, more or less knobbly tubers. Absolutely no relation of globe artichoke. British grown.

Avoid soft, small and broken ones. The knobblier they are, the more difficult to peel. Look out also for the little round holes which indicate that slugs have already snacked.

This root vegetable discolours easily when raw. If peeling, use stainless implements and cook in acidulated water.

Either scrape off the skin and the twiddlier knobs, then bring to the boil from cold in salted water acidulated with lemon juice, cover pan and cook until tender (about 15 minutes – a skewer should glide in easily). Or boil in their skins then pull off the skins when cool enough to handle. Can also be steamed, roasted or baked (peeled or unpeeled), or puréed for vegetable sauces or soups. The ultimate way of cooking them is to par-boil them peeled, drain well, then sauté slowly until a golden brown crust forms.