Bring me my arrows of desire

[venta]

Wanted: suggestions of what I should do with a Jerusalem artichoke.
Additional: suggestions should be both polite and culinary :)

A friend of mine grows artichokes. When I say "grows", I really mean "has failed to eradicate from her garden". For those not paying attention, Jerusalem artichokes are the ones that look like knobbly, bobbly potatoes. They are not green leafy things; they're globe artichokes.

Anyway, I've been given some extraordinarily knobbly artichokes. Do not be fooled by the picture of the nice, shapely, slim artichokes pictured on Wikipedia. These are like potatoes with serious problems.

Last time Katie gave me artichokes, she supplied a recipe for artichoke, bacon and leek gratin. This involved peeling the artichokes (very tedious) and ultimately tasted as if it'd have been nicer had I made it with normal spuds instead.

So... what shall I do with them this time ? I have two or three large artichokes. I'm considering roasting them whole, in the hopes that'll make it easier to get their skins off, and making them into soup. Elaborations, variations, or anything else on that plan welcome.

Comments

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

You can roast them, or peel them and make soup.

Unfortunately they're not very polite vegetables - they have a rather explosive effect on one's digestion.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Hmm. If I roast them, can I eat the skins ? I figure that works for most vegetables (even butternut squash, to my immense surprise). That would save on the peeling.

I don't remember the explosive effects from last time, but thanks for the warning!

[venta.livejournal.com]

I've just learned from Wikipedia, that the lack of politeness is caused by them storing inulin (a kind of carb) which some people can't digest well, and in them it causes Issues.

There's also this lovely quotation from at 17thC. herbal:

"which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men."