The Jerusalem Artichoke evokes a mental picture of a hybrid delicacy, an edible flower maybe, from a distant land. Boy does that miss the mark. It’s ugly and looks like a cross between a small bumpy potato and a piece of ginger. The “Sunchoke” as it is also known, is not from a distant land that is unless you live on the other half of the planet, but is native to North America. It is a tuber and related to the sunflower. It’s flowers, which as far as I know are inedible, do look much like a type of daisy.

Sunchokes are slightly sweet, with a crunchy bite reminiscent of jicama and surprisingly little starch. Sunchokes sweetness is derived from fructose that makes them a healthy choice for type 2 diabetics, because fructose is better tolerated by people who are type 2 diabetic.

Due to it’s unappealing appearance the Jerusalem Artichoke is not on the shopping list for most home cooks. But it is a very simple product to use and is surprisingly vesatile. Use it in soups, salads, pastas as it pairs well with proteins and vegetables alike. I find it lends itself extremely well with lemon and olive oil. I developed this recipe a couple of years ago as an appetizer for New Years Eve.

4 large sunchokes (they don’t get much bigger than 2”-3” in across)

1 meyer lemon cut in half

6 thin slices of pancetta

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup basil pesto

½ cup grated parmesan- Feel free to use addional cheese(s)

1 cup of baby greens such as spinach or kale

1 Twelve inch pizza crust (flour, water, yeast, olive oil) or packaged.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin of the sunchokes. Carefully slice them into 1/8” disks and place in a nonreative bowl. Squeeze half the lemon over the slices to prevent oxidation (discoloring).

Cook the pancetta in a dry pan as you would bacon, but pull out before it crisps. Set aside. In a clean pan, add the oil and squeeze the other half of the lemon into the pan. Heat to medium and add the sliced sunchokes. Saute until the edges turn brown and remove to a plate lined with a paper towel.

If using a homemade pizza dough roll out and bake on a pizza stone at 450 degrees for 8 minutes, but not completely done. If using a packaged crust cook 4- 5 minutes. Remove crust from oven and set on a rack or heat resistant plate or cutting board. Brush the crust generously with the pesto, add the greens, the cheese, the pancetta, and the sunchokes. Place in the oven for approximately 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with finishing salt and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy-RTK