Sunchoke Bisque With Hazelnut Oil Food

ROASTED SUNCHOKE WITH CREAMY GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Spread the sunchokes out evenly on a baking sheet. Season generously with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix them around with your hands so everything gets evenly coated.
• Slice off the top part of the head of garlic to expose a small amount of the cloves. Place the head, root-side down, in a piece of aluminum foil. Season the top cut part with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Wrap the garlic in the foil, creating a package, and place it on the baking sheet with the sunchokes. Roast until the sunchokes are brown and slightly tender, 45 to 50 minutes.
• While the sunchokes are still hot, smash them with a potato masher or fork. They should be smashed but not completely mashed up.
• In a large bowl, combine the goat cheese, chives, a generous pinch of salt and pepper and the remaining 2 tablespoon olive oil. Add the smashed sunchokes. Take the garlic out of the foil. Squeeze the bulb so that the roasted cloves come out of the skins and fall into the bowl with the goat cheese and sunchokes. Stir it all up until the ingredients are blended and the sunchokes well coated. Serve immediately.

FETTUCCINE WITH SUNCHOKES AND HERBS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet. Add shallots and garlic and sauté on medium until they are soft but not brown. Add remaining oil, olives and sunchokes and sauté, stirring, 5 minutes. Season with salt. Cover pan and cook about 15 minutes more, stirring once or twice, until sunchokes are tender.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook pasta until al dente, about 4 minutes. Remove 1 cup pasta water. Drain pasta.
• Add 1/2 cup pasta water, the rosemary and thyme to the skillet. Stir. Add drained pasta to skillet and using tongs or a large spoon, fold all the ingredients together. Add additional pasta water if needed to keep mixture moist. Add parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with cheese.

ROASTED MUSHROOM AND SUNCHOKE BISQUE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Toss the Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, and garlic with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl; season with sea salt and black pepper. Spread the mixture into a baking dish. Toss the mushrooms with another tablespoon of olive oil in a separate bowl; spread into a separate baking dish.
• Bake the potato mixture in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Place the mushrooms in the oven and continue baking until the potatoes are soft and slightly browned, about 25 minutes more. Remove both dishes from the oven and set aside.
• Melt the vegan margarine in a large stock pot over medium-low heat; cook the onion in the margarine until completely soft, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir the roasted potato mixture and the mushrooms into the onions, along with 1 teaspoon sea salt and the water; allow the mixture to come to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir the mushroom broth and sage into the mixture. Place a cover on the stock pot and cook to allow the flavors to blend, about 20 minutes.
• Allow the soup to cool slightly before pouring in batches into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway. Hold the lid firmly with a folded kitchen towel and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree; transfer blended batches to a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup in the pot. Stir the soy milk, if using, into the finished bisque to serve.

SUNCHOKE GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Reduce cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat by about 1/3. Slice sunchokes very thin with a mandolin or in a food processor.
• Butter a small casserole or 8 inch square baking dish. Arrange a thin layer of sunchokes. Top with a few spoonfuls of cream, a few spoons of both cheeses, salt and pepper. Continue layering until you have used all the sunchokes. The top layer should be cheese.
• Bake 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Run under the broiler for a few minutes to brown top, if desired.