Chicken Stir-Fry with Sunchokes and Black Radishes

One of my goals in signing up for a CSA vegetable share was to venture into uncharted territory and try new vegetables.  Well, this first week has given us several new vegetables to try:  burdock root, sorrel, ramps (wild leeks), black radishes, and sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem Artichokes.)  I’ve never cooked with any of these vegetables before this week, and have enjoyed the challenge of figuring out what to make of them.  Last night’s meal was unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before–in a very, very good way!  I served the stir-fry over brown rice, with artichokes (the other kind, the green ones) on the side.  Here’s how the stir-fry went together:

I sautéed 2 TBSP of minced garlic and 1 medium diced onion in 2 TBSP olive oil in a large skillet over high heat, until the onions were translucent.  Then I added the chicken–3 breasts, chopped into 1″ cubes.  I stirred the chicken until it was cooked through, adding about 1/2 c. water half-way through.

When the chicken was done, I added:

• 1 large black radish, chopped into 1/2″ pieces (you could substitute several red radishes, chopped into quarters or sliced)
• 2 c. Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes, scrubbed and sliced thinly
• 1 c. water
• 1 tsp. salt
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

I stirred until the vegetables were soft, then added 1 bunch of parsley, chopped roughly, and continued stirring for several minutes.  When the parsley was wilted, I removed from the heat and served over brown rice.  The radishes and sunchokes were still slightly crunchy, and added a nutty flavor that was nicely complemented by the lime and pepper. My picky eater #1 picked his way around the sunchokes, while PE #2 gobbled the whole plateful without blinking.  My husband and our dinner guest both went back for seconds.  So this is a thumbs-up meal!

My next attempt with sunchokes will be a lovely gratin recipe that I see on the farm’s website. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

LB