If you’re looking for an alternative to white potatoes, sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, roast up beautifully golden with a crisp exterior and tender interior. I used a Cooking Light recipe for this dish with some minor alterations. Sunchokes are a the knobby tuber from a North American plant related to the sunflower.
Regular readers of this blog know that I have a long-term love affair with the potato. However, I’ve been advised to try an anti-inflammatory diet, avoiding the nightshade family. The botanical grouping of nightshades includes white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and egglants, as well as tobacco. I’ll write more about this in the future as I develop more recipes, but I had read about sunchokes in Cooking Light and was curious to see whether they might really be an alternative for me. According to Frieda’s website: “Sunchokes have a low glycemic index which is essential for weight watchers and diabetics. They are high in potassium, iron, protein, and the natural fiber that is considered a “pre-biotic,” which helps good bacteria grow in the digestive tract. Studies also show that sunchokes may also help lower blood pressure and decrease cholesterol.”
When my friends at Frieda’s Produce offered me sunchokes, I jumped at the chance to give them a try, choosing this Cooking Light recipe as my starting point. I thought their recipe was way too sweet, so I have adapted it for you to provide a lightly caramelized side dish that’s more lemony than honeyed. I think you’ll love the results.
Required FTC disclosure: Frieda’s Produce sent me the sunchokes and Meyer lemons. I was not paid to write this post.
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Honey-roasted sunchokes with shallots and Meyer lemon
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (fresh)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin) organic, extra virgin
- 1 pound sunchokes
- 3 shallots large
- 1/2 tsp sea salt (omit for low-sodium diets)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F/220C/gas mark 6.5.
- Warm the honey until it's runny, then whisk in the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Scrub the sunchokes and slice into thirds lengthwise.
- Peel the shallots, cut off the root ends, and cut into quarters.
- Put the sunchokes and shallots in an oven-proof baking dish and pour over the marinade. Toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender and caramelized, stirring every ten minutes.
Notes
- 128 calories
- 3 g fat
- 0 g cholesterol
- 303 mg sodium (7 mg if salt omitted)
- 524 mg potassium
- 24 g carbohydrate
- 2 g fiber
- 13 g sugars
- 3 g protein
- 3 Weight Watchers Points Plus
Stephanie, your site is fantastic. Is there any way to find out what the saturated fats value is for this sunchoke recipe. Grams of saturated fat are required when calculating the number of points per serving on the new SmartPoints progam. Thanks!
Hi Niki, thanks so much for the nice compliment. I had to go to the USDA database to answer your question. It looks like the saturated fat content is 1.8 grams for the entire recipe, 0.45 grams per serving. My program that I use to calculate these amounts is MyFitnessPal, although I have stopped doing so in recent months. You are welcome to use that resource as well as the USDA database if you need this kind of in-depth information: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/
What temp did you cook them at? I ask because I have seen anything from 350-500F for roasting sunchokes. I’m might try this recipe tomorrow night. :-)
Whoops! So sorry! It’s 425F. Just updated it. Enjoy!
Wow – not only have I never cooked with these, I have never tasted one – looks interesting. I have heard of Jerusalem artichokes not not “sunchokes”. Innovative!
Thanks Liz, I think you would like them. And of course, it has Meyer lemon, which I know you love!