Warming and healthy: Sunchoke Soup

Once upon a time in the 17th century, sunchokes were flying off the stands at vegetable markets. But then came potatoes and suddenly the nutty, knobbly sunchokes fell into oblivion. Our community member vzbaratskiy hasn't forget about them though, and has reminded us why sunchokes are a healthy and trusty companion during the colder months. His sunchoke soup is our community recipe of the week!

50 min

2.5k

Sunchoke soup

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Why we love this recipe

When it gets colder, darker and downright uncomfortable outside, a soup simmering on the stove has the most comforting of effects. Instead of the usual suspects, like pumpkin or onion soup, you might want to experiment this autumn. In this recipe, several vegetables meet in your pot: celery, carrot, potato, and of course, our star guest sunchoke. Spices and aromatics such as cumin, caraway and garlic perk up your taste buds and make sure that this soup is full of flavor!

This soup is easy to prepare: cut, fry and season vegetables, then deglaze with vegetable stock and let it simmer, before blending and seasoning the soup. While the soup is simmering on your stove, there’s no time to be bored. In the meantime you can prepare two crunchy toppings for the soup – roasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, and crispy bread (a very good idea to use up stale bread).

Why you should cook with sunchoke more often

A lot of people aren't familiar with the humble sunchoke, which is probably why they are (unjustly) rarely used. The winter vegetable with its hundred names (e.g. Jerusalem artichoke, sunrook, or earth apple) is cultivated all around the world and in season during the colder months of the year. The stubby bulbs with their thin, brownish to purple skin and bright pulp are versatile in use and taste nutty and slightly sweet. Unlike potatoes you can even eat them raw.

Although peeling sunchokes is a quite nerve-wracking job, here’s the good news: They can be eaten with the skin, so skip this step completely. All you need to do before preparing them is to wash them and remove any dirt with a vegetable brush. If you can see some darker spots on their skin, just cut them off. Since sunchokes go off quickly, they are best used right after buying them. Stored in the refrigerator they last for only a maximum of one week.

Sunchokes are not only tasty and versatile, but of course, also healthy. They contain about 30 calories per 100 g and offer vitamins A, B, and C, potassium and iron, as well as inulin, a dietary fiber that has no effect on your blood sugar levels – this is the reason why sunchokes are sometimes referred to as "potatoes for diabetics."

If you’re not into soup right now, you can also enjoy sunchokes raw in salads, as a creamy puree, or fried as a side dish.

Do you also have a delicious, warming soup recipe that you want to share with us and the community? Upload it to our app and don't forget to snap a picture!