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

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Hmm. They're quite tasty raw, in slices - like slightly nuttier water chestnuts. They roast/bake well too - and then go fluffy, so you can eat them right out of the skin. No peeling and doesn't take too long.

I think skins are edible - at least when cooked - just hard to clean.

Make a great soup, too. Especially with carrots.

(mine are just surfacing again at the end of the garden...)