Artichoke Relish

The chronological nature of a blog means that, inevitably, posts roll off the screen to be forgotten in the archives. Occasionally, I resurrect a favorite recipe for those who missed it the first go around. What I have in my hand above is a Jerusalem artichoke (or sunchoke), which is the tuber of a sunflower. It's crunchy, sweet, nutty, and absolutely delicious! These were dug the other day at our friend's farm, but you can maybe find some now (autumn and winter) at farmers' markets and better, local grocery stores. My favorite way to prepare Jerusalem artichokes is as a sweet and tangy relish. Every year, my friend and I get together to can 18 or so pints of the stuff (one year we made 40 pints!). It's become a lovely tradition.Where do all of those jars of relish go? In deviled eggs, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, and chickpea "tuna" salad. On top of burgers, sandwiches, and hotdogs. Next to butter beans and black-eyed peas. On a cracker with cheese. We use it on and in every thing!

Having just made our annual 18 pints of artichoke relish this past weekend, I thought I'd pull the recipe back up to the top of the blog for all y'all that missed it the first time, which was nearly 4 years ago! I'd like to think I've gotten just a tad better at blogging since then.Artichoke Relish

Adapted from A Gracious Plenty: Recipes and Recollections from the American South

Makes 17 or 18 pints

5 quarts Jerusalem artichokes, chopped
2 gallons water
2 cups non-iodized salt
3 pounds green cabbage, chopped
1 1/2 pounds onions, chopped
6 large green and red bell peppers, chopped
3/4 cup flour
1 (24-ounce) jar prepared mustard
2 quarts apple cider vinegar
3 pounds sugar
3 tablespoons mustard seed
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons celery seed
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon hot sauce

• Soak artichokes overnight in 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of salt. In another container, soak the cabbage, onion, and bell peppers in the remaining 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of salt.
• The next day, drain the artichokes and vegetables. Spread the artichokes on one towel, and the vegetables on a separate towel.
• Combine the flour and prepared mustard in a bowl, avoiding lumps.
• In a 10-quart or larger pot, add the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then add the cabbage, onion, and bell peppers. Bring back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
• Reduce heat to low. Add and mix about a cup of the cooking liquid to the flour and mustard mixture, then add the thinned mixture to the pot of cooking vegetables, and stir.
• Add the hot sauce and artichokes. Raise the heat and stir until almost boiling (about 5 minutes).
• Remove pot from heat, and ladle hot relish into sterilized jars, wipe rims of jars, apply sterilized lids and bands, and process for 15 minutes in a hot water bath.

Cranberry Relish

A couple years ago, in the spirit of adventure, I tried a cooked cranberry chutney recipe that is extremely different from the fresh cranberry relish my Mom makes every year for Thanksgiving. Bad move. Thanksgiving is not a time to deviate from traditions. You can incorporate something new, but you can't take away the tried, true, and beloved.

In our family, we don't do canned cranberry sauce, nor do we do a cooked cranberry sauce, but we always make a very simple fresh cranberry relish of nothing more than cranberries, oranges, and sugar. I took the liberty to reduce the sugar and add cinnamon to my Mom's recipe, which I'm certain came from the back of a cranberry bag, but have been unable to spot such a recipe in recent years.

One reason I am so endeared to this recipe is that my Mom let me make it every year from beginning at a very young age. We'd break out the old crank meat grinder, suction it to the counter, and I'd fill the hopper with cranberries and orange hunks, and grind away. Now a days, I use a food processor to get the same results.

Cranberry Relish
makes about 2 1/2 cups

This relish is best made a day ahead, so the cranberries can macerate and the flavors marry. It can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 Navel orange
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Wash cranberries and drain. Discard any shriveled or bad cranberries.
In a food processor, pulse cranberries 8-10 times until finely chopped. Turn out cranberries into a large bowl.Cut orange into eighths.
In food processor, pulse orange wedges 8-10 times until orange rind is finely chopped. Turn out orange rinds, including juice, into the bowl with the cranberries.
Add sugar and cinnamon, and stir until incorporated. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Artichoke Relish

Firstly, let me just squeal, “artichoke relish!”

I’m not talking about the green, unopened flower buds of Cynara scolymus - ya know, the artichoke of famed artichoke dips. I’m talking about the brown, knobby tubers of Helianthus tuberosus – Jerusalem artichokes. To avoid confusion between the two, Jerusalem artichokes are sometimes referred to as sunchokes.

Jerusalem artichokes are the sweet, edible tubers of native North American sunflowers that were commonly eaten by North American Indians, and then settlers. Jerusalem artichokes grow easily (no-brainer crop) almost any where, and make a pretty vegetable crop when covered with yellow, daisy-like flowers. Heck, stick it in your flower garden!

Neat factoid: The main storage carbohydrate in Jerusalem artichokes is inulin rather than starch. Inulin is converted in the digestive tract to fructose rather than glucose, which can be tolerated by diabetics.When I was younger and lived in the South, Jerusalem artichokes appeared in the fall and winter at farm stands, marquees proudly posted their arrival. If you were lucky, a neighbor would bring over a jar of homemade artichoke relish as a Christmas gift.

I didn’t start eating Jerusalem artichokes any other way than in relish form until I was older. Fresh Jerusalem artichokes are crunchy and subtly sweet. Don’t bother peeling the knobby tubers – it’s laborious and unnecessary.

I looove artichoke relish. It's tangy and crunchy, as the artichokes retain their crunchy quality. It’s definitely a Southern thing, but I haven’t met a person that doesn’t like it - kinda like boiled peanuts. I couldn’t help but laugh at my boyfriend’s endorsement of, “Mmmm. Damn!” If you like relishes and chutneys, you’ll love this. I eat it on sandwiches, crackers, vegetables, and by the spoonful. It's spectacular on hot dogs.

It took all fall and winter to get around to visiting my friend who has a patch of Jerusalem artichokes, but I finally did so a couple of weeks ago. She has all the canning equipment and a large kitchen. Thanks Steph!

Dig the tubers when the plant is dormant and the soil is not frozen. It’s just like digging potatoes – stick a fork in the ground, and tons of tubers appear. You won’t get all the tubers, but that just ensures a crop for next year.

All the little knobs of the tuber make cleaning the dirt off difficult. Cut off the bad spots and pop the fingers off to make cleaning easier. I think we went through three stages of cleaning. Once clean, you’re ready to eat the tubers, or better yet…make relish!

Artichoke Relish
Adapted from A Gracious Plenty: Recipes and Recollections from the American South

Makes 17 or 18 pints

5 quarts Jerusalem artichokes, chopped
2 gallons water
2 cups non-iodized salt
3 pounds green cabbage, chopped
1 ½ pounds onions, chopped
6 large green and red bell peppers, chopped
3/4 cup flour
1 (24-ounce) jar prepared mustard
2 quarts apple cider vinegar
3 pounds sugar
3 tablespoons mustard seed
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons celery seed
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon hot sauce

• Soak artichokes overnight in 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of salt. In another container, soak the cabbage, onion, and bell peppers in the remaining 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of salt.
• The next day, drain the artichokes and vegetables. Spread the artichokes on one towel, and the vegetables on a separate towel.
• Combine the flour and prepared mustard in a bowl, avoiding lumps.
• In a 10-quart or larger pot, add the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then add the cabbage, onion, and bell peppers. Bring back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
• Reduce heat to low. Add and mix about a cup of the cooking liquid to the flour and mustard mixture, then add the thinned mixture to the pot of cooking vegetables, and stir.
• Add the hot sauce and artichokes. Raise the heat and stir until almost boiling (about 5 minutes).
• Remove pot from heat, and ladle hot relish into sterilized jars, wipe rims of jars, apply sterilized lids and bands, and process for 15 minutes in a hot water bath.