Fennel Bourbon Buffalo Sausage with Sunchoke and Caramelized Onion Mash
Posted on | March 31, 2009 | 1 Comment
Look at this picture long enough and you'll see Mark Twain
One of my favorite experiences in cruising farmer’s markets is the discovery of something new, or the purchase of something familiar, yet untried. I don’t often find this at the local grocery store, which increasingly looks like the week-old discount bin of the country’s worst produce.
If you’re up for it, feel adventurous, and don’t mind asking questions, the farmer’s market can provide needed inspiration, whether in finding new things to eat, or discovering new ways to cook.
Last Sunday, I found a little of both. That morning, I was, admittedly, not feeling adventurous. I felt unprepared, didn’t have a list, hadn’t taken an adequate stock of my fridge, and hadn’t brought a shopping bag, which I’ve grown accustomed to carrying most everywhere.
Molly, however, reminded me that it is often on these very occasions that farmer’s markets provide some unknown, yet fortuitous bounty. And, once again, she was correct. Ten minutes into our stroll through the market, we came across a familiar stall selling a tumbling mountain of nubby, golden sunchokes.
I’ve seen sunchokes everywhere in the past year, yet I’ve never tried them. Otherwise known at the Jerusalem Artichoke – yet in no way related to Jerusalem or artichoke-like at all – the sunchoke emanates from the sunflower family and looks quite a bit like ginger. It’s incongruous shape and bark-like skin don’t immediately shout “eat me” and even if they did, I would answer “okay…but how?”
Molly and I both hadn’t ever cooked with sunchokes, and couldn’t remember any memorable restaurant meals containing them either. So, with two large handfuls, and some fabulous buffalo sausage from Virginia’s Cibola Farms, we headed home to discover how to turn them into dinner.
A quick search of the web wasn’t entirely helpful. Most information highlighted their history, and the name’s etymology, but there was little – save a handful of healthy recipes recommending a light steaming – ehw – that seemed very compelling.
One facet of the sunchoke that was helpful, however, was their similarity, both in flavor and texture, to potatoes. This, I could work with.
I washed and peeled the sunchoke – not has difficult as many people claim – and cooked them in chicken stock on simmer for about 7 minutes. I set them aside in a bowl, covering them with a dish towel.
I then used half a moreover yellow onion I had in the fridge. I sliced it lengthwise and caramelized with a small bit of olive oil and chicken stock, finishing it off by adding two diced cloves of garlic.
I then added the sunchokes and caramelized onion to a food processor. As the mixture blended, I added salt, pepper and 1.5 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and a tiny bit of chicken stock. I pulsed the mixture for about 2 minutes, until I had a mash that would stand up. I added the mash to small baking dish and threw it in the oven for about 10 minutes so the top would crisp up slightly.
I then broiled the sausages for 7 minutes and sauteed a handful of moreover brussel sprouts I had from earlier in the week.
The sausage and sunchoke mash with caramelized onions turned out quite well. The mash had a slightly sweet and nutty flavor, and the texture was excellent. Paired with the sausages, they made a fine meal, worthy of a stout – say, Guinness, maybe?
As we sat at dinner and enjoyed our new find, I was reminded of the joy of experimentation in the kitchen, and of discovery at the market. Most of us who love to cook and eat do not do so because we enjoy re-hashing the same old dishes, and mollifying our palettes with the same old flavors and textures. We do it to find something new and exciting.
There is also quite a lot of talk these days about recession diets, and literal and figurative belt-tightening. Yet, I’m still of the belief that diversification has, and always will be a good strategy for saving money, a fabulous way to feed yourself and to keep your hungry mouths interested in food. This is our food, people; let’s not allow what we put in our bodies to suffer for the sake of what we put on and around our bodies.
So, please, do yourself a favor and the next time you go the market, pick something you’ve never tried before, bring it home, and learn how to cook it. Expand your repertoire, and should you discover something new and fabulous that you really love, send it to me and I’ll post it here on Recipe Play.
Cheers,
Will
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One Response to “Fennel Bourbon Buffalo Sausage with Sunchoke and Caramelized Onion Mash”
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April 1st, 2009 @ 3:06 pm
I love sunchoke puree, Will! This looks fabulous (‘cept I think it looks a little like Yosemite Sam w/o his hat)! The addition of caramelized onions is perfect, too–you rock!
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