Sunchoke Fritters!

When I subscribed to Boston Organics in March, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I was excited to try the biweekly deliveries of locally sourced organic produce!  I had considered subscribing to CSAs in the past, but most of them say they're enough produce to feed 2 vegetarians and well, I'm just one!  The Dogma Box from Boston Organics seemed like a convenient and flexible way to get my fill of locally sourced fruits and veggies and at $29 per delivery, it was worth a shot!

Soup Before Immersion Blender

I knew I wouldn't be getting any strawberries, but I wasn't expecting so many Jerusalem Artichokes (aka Sunchokes)!  I don't think I had ever even heard of a sunchoke before my first lb arrived sometime in March or April, but I was excited to try them and whipped up an easy and delicious Sunchoke Potato Leek Soup with the first batch.  I had a few friends over to help me consume this new concoction and everyone loved it, though the day after was reportedly a bit uncomfortable for some...

These are NOT potatoes!

I searched high and low for recipes for all the sunchokes that came in my deliveries.  I must admit that a batch or two eventually found their way to the composter instead of my tummy!  My growing collection of cookbooks and shelf full of Vegetarian Times magazines didn't come through for me, but I eventually found and adapted a pretty awesome recipe for Sunchoke Fritters!


Here are the ingredients and what I did:

Scrubbed and Trimmed Sunchokes!

Tip: Soak sunchokes in cold water with a little baking soda before scrubbing and cut off the knobby parts that are tough to clean!  The skins are good for you!

Thank god for food processors!

1 lb Sunchokes, scrubbed
3 carrots
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic

I shredded the above ingredients in the food processor.

Dry Ingredients

Then I mixed them with the following pre-mixed dry ingredients:
Approx 1/4 cup flour (I combined soy and whole wheat pastry flour)
Approx 1/4 cup corn meal
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Paprika
Assorted Fresh Herbs to taste (chives, parsley)

Mix it up!

1 - 2 eggs to bind the ingredients

Mix all above ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

I then grabbed a tablespoon sized measuring spoon and a flat wooden spatula to help make sure I had even flat circular fritters.


Pan fry using High Heat Safflower Oil (it doesn't oxidize as much as other oils when heated to high temps). Cook 1-3 min per side, until lightly browned and crispy!  

Into the frying pan they go!

Transfer to paper towel lined pans and put in oven at 200 degrees to keep warm, if desired.  These pan-fried treats are made a lot like potato pancakes but served up a lot more flavor than the typical latke.

YUM!

There were so many that I brought them all to work and left them in our cafe, where they disappeared within a few short hours!