There are many ways to enjoy Jerusalem artichokes, but soup is one of the easiest ways to create something wonderful with them. Cooking them gently with onions brings out their sweet, earthy and slightly smoky notes. You can serve the soup simply as it is, or make a quick pesto to drizzle over the top. Crispy pancetta and Parmesan shavings are also good garnishes.

Serves 6
A good knob of butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
800g of Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
800ml of vegetable stock
60ml of cream
Sea salt and ground black pepper

For the rocket pesto:
A generous handful of rocket
A small handful of pine nuts
A small handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6-8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper

Place a medium pot over a medium high heat and melt the butter until it begins to foam.

Add in the onion and sweat for 6 minutes until tender. Add in the Jerusalem artichoke cubes, cover with a lid and allow to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the Jerusalem artichokes are tender when pierced with a fork.

Remove the pot from the heat and using a hand blender, blitz until completely smooth. If you find the soup is too thick, add a little boiling water, to loosen it. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

Pour in the cream and continue to blitz until the soup is frothy.
Serve straight away drizzled with rocket pesto.

For the rocket pesto:
Place all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle and bash until you have a smooth mixture. Taste and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Add a little extra oil if you prefer a looser pesto.

The post Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Rocket Pesto first appeared on Donal Skehan | EAT LIVE GO.

My earliest memories of wild garlic are from school, where it used to grow along the pathway covered by trees. We used to pick the leaves and flowers and bring them into class, only to be told off because of the unbelievably pungent smell. While we never ate it back then, little did I realise that this wonderful free food could be transformed into so many delicious dishes.  Wild garlic has been used in Irish cooking for hundreds of years.

Known as ‘creamh’ as Gaeilge, it grows in covered forest areas and now is the perfect time to go out and pick some, the woodland floors are completely covered in it and it’s incredibly hard to miss with it’s broad green leaves and pretty white flowers. The key way to identify it is by smell, pick one of the leaves and you will immediately notice a distinct garlic scent.  Use a scissors and pick the leaves and flowers at their stems. You should need no more than a basket full, and they can be used in salads as you would chives or made into marinades. Even the flowers can be eaten so they make a wonderful garnish.

I wandered into the woods close to our house, on Wednesday evening just as the sun was going down and got a big basket full which I proudly carried home to be transformed into pesto! A few spoonfuls mixed through steaming hot pasta is total heaven on a plate!  Now is the time to pick it, so head out this weekend and get your wild garlic on!

Continue to the recipe for Wild Garlic Pesto…

The post The Hunt For Wild Garlic! first appeared on Donal Skehan | EAT LIVE GO.