Roasted Sunchoke and Sweet Potato Soup

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I know this post was supposed to come on Saturday, but I have a good excuse. I’m in Maine, waiting for my little niece to officially come in to this world. But she knows what’s up–it’s COLD in Maine in January! And she’s feeling nice and cozy in her mama’s belly! We thought she’d be here by now, but alas, she is making us eagerly wait. While some would be disappointed, I am anything but–this just means I get to come back next month to spend time with my sister and her family! 😀

With the anticipation of meeting my niece, along with thoroughly enjoying late night talks with my sister and her husband and soaking up as much time with my nephews as possible, I just couldn’t bring myself to sit down in front of my computer long enough to craft a post. As I prepare to head back to DC though, I knew I didn’t want you to wait another second for this elegant winter soup.

Like the tatsoi and the romanesco cauliflower I recently posted about, I had never tasted sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes, although they are not related to artichokes at all). The first time I saw them was when I lived in North Carolina, when a friend explained that they were tubers (which I had also never heard of before!). Still, I was not yet adventurous enough to try them. Fast forward to this winter when I embarked on a new winter veggie binge, and they were soon plopped down into my grocery bag.

Although they resemble ginger root, figuring they were starchy like a potato, I went with a potato-like soup. For color, I added roasted sweet potato (now, I’m thinking when I make this soup again I may use carrots or rainbow chard) and to bring out some of the earthiness and sweetness, I used thyme and roasted garlic. The result? Nom!

This soup was comforting and hearty, which is just what I was looking for. A definite ‘must try’ and great alternative to potatoes. Sunchokes pack vitamin C, phosphorous, and potassium, and iron…. and inulin. Inulin, a type of carbohydrate, acts a lot like a probiotic. What does this mean practically? As tasty as sunchokes are, they are also “wind-producing.” Because of this, I would suggest serving this soup in small portions, perhaps as an amuse-bouche in shot glasses or large soup spoons (like the ones featured here).

The taste is amazing, but the effect on your tummy can be harsh if you eat too much, so savor this soup in small doses!

Roasted Sunchoke and Sweet Potato Soup

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 pint sunchokes

1/2 red onion–chopped

1 bulb roasted garlic

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon Earth Balance (or butter/margarine)

1 sweet potato–cubed

1 tablespoon orange juice

olive oil

salt

pepper

dash dried thyme

pecans (garnish)

Method:

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare roasted garlic (click here for directions). Wash and cube sweet potatoes. Add sweet potatoes to baking pan. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a dash of thyme. Roast until soft (~20 minutes), turning 1-2 times. Set aside.

*Wash sunchokes. Cut into ~1 1/2 – 2 inch chunks. Add to baking pan. Drizzle with 1 -2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until soft (~25 minutes), turning 1-2 times. Set aside.

*Dice onion. Saute onion in 1 tablespoons olive oil and Earth Balance over medium heat. Set aside. Chop pecans, set aside.

*Heat vegetable stock, white wine, and orange juice over medium low heat in medium saucepan. When sunchokes are soft and cooled for 5 minutes, add to blender along with pulp from roasted garlic, sautéed onions, and stock/wine/oj mixture. Blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning. Add additional vegetable broth if you like a thinner soup. Serve with cubed sweet potatoes, a dash of cayenne, and a few chopped pecans.

Written by

Tiffany M. Griffin is the woman behind Como Water, Washington DC’s premiere veg-centric cuisine consulting company. Through cooking classes, demonstrations, catering, and consultations, Como Water gives people the opportunity to learn how to prepare veg-centric cuisine that boasts maximum flavor, with minimal effort. Tiffany is quickly becoming a go-to expert on the future of veg-centric cuisine, and is a regular contributor to Como Water, the blog, as well as to vegetarian and vegan sites across the Internet. For over a decade, this self-taught, entrepreneurial expert has developed a set of tried and true techniques for making simple, delicious, and sometimes decadent veg-centric dishes. Featured on the Steve Harvey Show and other leading media outlets, Tiffany was born and raised in Springfield, MA. She then earned Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Communications from Boston College and a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. She now resides in Washington DC, where she has worked in the US Senate and at a federal agency on issues around health, food, nutrition, and international food aid/development, and of course, as the owner of Como Water. Tiffany gets culinary inspiration from the food she grew up eating, and from her travels throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is dedicated to sharing her wealth of knowledge on veg-centric cuisine with others and to help others live by her mantra—love life, live long, and eat veg-centric cuisine!

Comments

  1. Tiffany this sounds wonderful! You have two of my favorite winter veggies here, and everything is better roasted. It would be so warming! Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday :)!

  2. I’m sure your niece will make her big arrival with some style.. hope it all goes well! Congrats to you , your sister and family on the sweet little bundle of pink joy to come and behold. Now onto this marvelous soup.. I have never seen sunchokes… thanks for the information about them. You’re right, they look exactly like ginger. 🙂 This soup looks like perfection and you know I’m a little bias since I love sweet potatoes so much. 🙂 I love that you roasted everything first… it brings out so much flavor. PS.. thanks for the shout out on Twitter. 🙂

  3. Oh wow, I can’t believe there’s no cream or butter or something else in that, it looks so creamy and thick! I’ve never had sunchokes, but I’d love to try them. Beautiful dish! I can almost imagine the aroma wafting through your kitchen 🙂

  4. So now I’ll have to hunt down another new vegetable. Good thing I usually try to find something new everytime I go to the farmers market. The newspaper had an article in it stating that the Durham Farmers Market was looking to expand and wants to buy land in the area of Streets at Southpoint. This is great news for me as that is about 1 mile from my house. That and the performing arts center downtown is now in the top 5 venues in the US as far as attendance. You left to soon Durham is finally on the right track.

  5. Sunchoke is on my list of ingredients to try. I heard they taste delicious! Your soup looks like a great use of sunchokes

  6. You have good excuse:)) We fogive you lol!
    This soup look like something I am in need right now…it’s not that cold, but rainy and I feel I need hot soup!:))
    Great recipe and Congratulation sweetie on being new auntie..best wishes for mother and the baby!!!

  7. But it would be so much more entertaining to serve this to guest in large quantities and watch as the inulin did its thing. LOL!

    This soup looks delish – I totally forgot about sunchokes. I first tried them last winter in a sweet potato-sunchoke puree. Love the idea of a soup though!

  8. Congrats on becoming an aunt! I’ve been wondering about sunchokes and now here’s your recipe, tempting me to be brave enough to cook with them. Kudos!

  9. Congrats on being an Aunt! I have 3 nephews myself. They are such a spunky bunch. This looks amazing, I love all the roasted veggies. YUM

  10. Oh, I heart sunchokes. Your soup looks colorful and delicious. Best wishes for your niece’s healthy and happy entry into the world!

  11. So excited for you and your family… a new addition is always fantastic and thrilling!!! <3 Can't wait to hear more about the little angel! 🙂

    I love Jerusalem artichokes! This soup sounds delicious and I love the idea of serving it in shot glasses or big spoons as an amuse-bouche! Very classy!

  12. Congrats on your new niece!! Hope she comes soon : ) This soup is gorgeous, and I just love the flavors in it!

  13. Tiffany, I am loving your vegetarian recipes and getting familiar with new veggies. The soup is inviting me.

  14. This soup looks delicious! Love the flavor combo.

  15. WOW this looks exactly what I want to be eating right now. Gorgeous hue on the soup, and lovely reminder of what our bodies are craving this time of year. Salud!

  16. This soup looks delicious! The roasted cauliflower must be lovely in this recipe. Thanks for sharing, looks great! =]

  17. I am not sure whether sunchokes are available here because I have not seen it before. Even artichokes are pretty rare to be found. That does not mean I don’t drool over this soup because sweet potatoes are so nutritious and this will plenty. Got to have this soup for dinner.

  18. Thanks for introducing this sunchoke which is totally new to me. Fantastic and healthy soup! Congrats on your new niece!

  19. I’ve never had sunchokes before either, but your sounp does look fancy enough for a party app. Hope your niece makes her debut soon so you can meet her!

  20. Oooh! Another topinambour post! This must be the season for it I’m guessing. Just came from another soup-type dish for this. Honestly, I’ve never had this “choke” before and will definitely be keeping an eye (no, make that 2 eyes) out for them. Not too common here 🙁

  21. Those pictures are amazing! I’ve heard of the health benefits of inulin so I’m all over this one. Looking forward to having this, in small amounts of course. Don’t want to send my family running!!

  22. Oh, your little niece is taking her sweet time, is she? Hope she makes her appearance soon. This soup looks delish and a great distraction from waiting on baby.

  23. Tiffany, how do you always manage to make food that makes me consider giving up meat for good?! Beautiful soup!

  24. I grew up in Maine, and I’d probably want to stay in my mother’s stomach as long as possible right now too! Hope you enjoy your trip and have safe travels back home!

  25. That is a very good excuse, congratulations 🙂 This soup deserves another congratulations…so lovely!

  26. I never made soup from sweet potato, but it’s look delicious, and looks pretty!

    cheers

  27. Congratulations on almost being an Auntie, and to your sister and her family.

    I love sweet potatoes, but have never had sunchokes before. It is very cold and we’ll be getting snow tomorrow, so this soup will be perfect for the cold weather, if I can find sunchokes at this time of the year. Gorgeous pics as always!

  28. Wow. wow! This soup is so beautiful and the flavors…I’m super stoked to try this.

  29. I think you have a perfect excuse! How exciting!!!
    This soup looks so perfect and warming and delicious.