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Boston's locavores are really happy at the moment. We're talking about how happy we are a lot, so forgive us if this is redundant, won't you please?
Why are we so gleeful? Well, there's good things afoot in the social food systems, and people seem to be understanding that eating in a healthful way can make you happier. But mostly it is because it isn't March yet.
There is still some old acorns in the root cellar, and those onions are just sprouting on the innermost layers, the ones between the moldy outside and the center are just fine. There are still some potatoes left, and there are Jerusalem artichokes, also known as sunchokes.
I mean, who needs anything else, when you have Jerusalem artichokes? You might eat them with a little salad of local pea shoots (much more tender and salad friendly than the chunky ones you boil before you saute from the high summer farmer's market) with some ume plum vinegar (just a drop!), rich olive oil, and a reasonably sized piece of local meat. A Stillman's pork chop, perhaps, in some risotto. That's it!
Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto
1 lb Jerusalem artichoke (also called sunchoke)
2 cups uncooked risotto
2 cups dry sake
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water
1 cup local milk
1 T chopped marjoram
2 T parmesan or more to taste
Ground sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Mayer lemon is a nice seasoning too, if you happen to have one
Wait to peel the Jerusalem artichokes until just before you start cooking them, as they turn brown very quickly!
- Bring the sake, vegetable stock and cup of water to a boil. While it heats, peel and dice the Jerusalem artichokes into cubes
- Boil the Jerusalem artichokes in the liquid for a couple of minutes and remove, retaining the liquid. This is just to start the process going.
- A good risotto pan is wide, to encourage heat dispersal and evaporation, but not too shallow, like most saute pans. Look for a nice heavy frying pan. I like aluminum with a good, heavy core.
- In the pan of your choice, saute the onions and garlic on medium low heat for five minutes. Sprinkle lightly with salt and grind in some pepper, and then add the uncooked risotto, and the Jerusalem artichokes, and continue to saute for a few more minutes, stirring often, until they are warmed through and crackling.
- Reduce the heat and pour in just one cup of the hot mixed liquids, stirring all the time.
- On low heat, continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely gone. The first cup will hit the pan sizzling and go fast, but after that they will take much longer. You could be doing this for a hour, find a friend to spell you if you wish. A good risotto takes time, and you have to pay close attention to the temperature and stick with it to the end.
- When you have cooked all of the liquid into the risotto, add the chopped marjoram and the parmesan, and start using the milk, but be very careful to keep the heat low, so you do not burn the milk sugars- you will have worked so hard, only to ruin your beautiful dish very easily.
- If you want to do this dish for a dinner party, and see your guests as well, you can take the recipe up to before you add the dairy, and take it off heat. When you start again, add a little water first, to heat it up without burning it, before starting with the milk.
- Taste and season before finishing completely.
Post contributed by JJ Gonson, a locavore and personal chef. Read her blog at Cuisine en Locale.
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I'll have to try this recipe next. I have been making a lot of gnocchi with our local potatoes and we just had a plate of roasted sunchoke fries - olive oil, a few pinches of ground chiles and sea salt before they went into the oven and we had a wonderful movie snack for a cold afternoon...