Seasonal local food recipe No.349 – Jerusalem artichokes a la provencale

This quick and easy recipe was given to me by Joan, an ex-colleague who was very fond of Jerusalem artichokes.  We’ve got plenty in our veg boxes this week thanks to the Hoare family at Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick in north Cornwall. I have no idea where she got the idea from, possibly Elizabeth David.

Serves 2-3

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients
500 g Jerusalem artichokes
olive oil
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
parsley
chives

Method
Boil the artichokes in salted water, straining them before they are quite cooked.  Cut them in halves and sauté them gently in a little olive oil with the tomatoes, garlic, and chives and parsley.

Purple-sprouting broccoli in Camel CSA’s veg boxes

Lovely leeks in this week’s Cornish veg boxes

Vegetable farmer Richard Hoare at Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick is Camel CSA’s main external supplier at this time of year while we get ready for the new growing season. He cultivates an amazing variety of winter and spring vegetables that thrive in the mild climate alongside the Camel estuary in north Cornwall.

This week all boxes have: –
* carrots (Camel CSA)
leeks (Restharrow )
swede (Restharrow)
potatoes (Restharrow)
Brussels sprouts stalk (Restharrow)
* parsnips (Mark Norman, Bodmin)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
beetroot (Restharrow)
curly kale (Restharrow)
white cabbage (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles

Freshly-dug leeks in our weekly veg boxes

Some of the late autumn vegetables in our boxes are lovingly grown for us beside the Camel estuary by Richard Hoare at Trebetherick. Standard boxes have the first of the Jerusalem artichokes from our plot.

UPDATE: Chillies (Camel CSA) have substituted mixed salad leaves** which don’t like the dull weather.

Both standard and small boxes have: –
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
carrots (Restharrow)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)
* chillies (Camel CSA)
* red Russian or curly kale (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
* Jerusalem artichokes (Camel CSA)
* swede (Camel CSA)
* kohl rabi (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket,  red mustard and golden mustard greens

Bunched carrots in Camel CSA’s veg boxes

This week we’re all enjoying freshly-dug carrots and potatoes grown by one of our local suppliers. Richard Hoare cultivates seasonal vegetables at Restharrow Farm overlooking the Camel estuary. His farm shop is on the lane between Polzeath and Rock, above Daymer Bay.

Camel CSA’s small and standard boxes have: –
* bunched carrots (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
* potatoes (Restharrow Farm)
* french beans (Camel CSA)
* onions (Camel CSA / Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* cucumbers (Camel CSA)
* courgettes (Mark Norman)
* basil (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes also have extra potatoes plus:
* mixed salad bag – rocket, lettuce, baby spinach (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* coriander (Camel CSA)
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles