Pickled Sunchokes and Carrots

I recently harvested a large batch of sunchoke tubers from my backyard, and they needed to be cooked as soon as possible.  Due to their inulin content, with its low hypoglycaemic index,  sunchokes are considered diabetic-friendly, but unfortunately, this natural polysaccharide is not easily digested, and there is a direct correspondence to bloating after consumption.  There are different methods to reduce this problem; inulin is water soluble, and also breaks up in acidic conditions.  I have tried boiling and then roasting with a splash of vinegar; cooking in vinegary water before mixing in a salad; and also adding them to stews.  For this large batch, I thought that soaking in vinegary water, then pickling would work well.  I used my escabeche recipe, which I have shared before; I kept the carrots for contrast, but since the sunchokes are the star in this dish, I added just a few instead of a lot of hot peppers, to keep it mild.

Pickled Sunchokes and Carrots –

Patacas y zanahorias en escabeche

Printable recipe:  Pickled sunchokes and Carrots

Ingredients (approx. yield: 8 cups)

2 lb (910 g) sunchoke tubers; dirt brushed off, scrubbed and washed 
1 white onion
4 cloves garlic
2 carrots; washed
3-4 serrano or jalapeño peppers; washed
1 ½ cups freshly boiled water; plus more, if needed
 ¾ cup white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar; plain white vinegar will do if nothing else is available)
1 tbsp salt, or more, to taste
3 tbsp olive oil (or any other vegetable oil)
4 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
Water and white vinegar for treating the sunchokes, as needed

Prepare sunchokes: I started with a whole tub of sunchoke tubers (photo below, left).  However, because I harvested them a little late this spring, some showed discolouration when cut open (photo below, centre); these are still edible, but the flavour and texture might not be as good, and just to be safe, I discarded them. In the end, and after peeling the good tubers, I had about two pounds, which I placed back in the tub with lots of fresh water and a good splash of white vinegar (photo below, right):

Keep soaking to allow some inulin to dissolve.

Wash and sterilize glass jars and their lids. Reserve.

Prepare other ingredients: peel and slice the onion; peel garlic; remove ends from carrots, then peel and slice into coins.

Prepare pickling liquid: In a small pan, mix one and a half cups of freshly boiled water, white wine vinegar and salt, stirring over low-medium heat until the salt dissolves; cover, and keep simmering at low heat.

Slice sunchokes: discard vinegary water from sunchokes; pour fresh water and another splash of white vinegar in the tub.  Taking one sunchoke at a time, cut into cubes or slices, and put pieces back in the tub; continue with the rest. Reserve.

Prepare escabeche:  In a large pan over medium heat, add olive oil.  When hot, add sliced onions and cook, stirring, just until they start to become translucent.  Add hot peppers and garlic cloves (photo below, left), and continue cooking and stirring for another two minutes.  Remove reserved sunchokes from the tub (discard vinegary water) and incorporate sunchokes to the pan, along with the sliced carrots (photo below, right):  

Add black peppercorns and bay leaves, stirring to mix with the rest of the ingredients (photo below, left).  Cook for another minute, then pour in reserved hot pickling liquid (photo below, right):

Reduce heat to low, and cook for five minutes, to develop flavour and aroma; remove from the heat and cover the pot, allowing the mix to rest for ten to fifteen minutes. Transfer the solids to prepared jars using a slotted spoon, then pour the liquid over to fill, leaving about ½ inch (12.5 mm) spacing from the rim. (if veggies are not completely covered in liquid, add some freshly boiled water.)  Close the jars, and let them reach room temperature, undisturbed. For this batch, I got eight cups of yummy looking sunchoke and carrot escabeche:

Once completely cooled,  allow to rest in the refrigerator from a couple of days to up to three months before starting to consume; after opening the jar, keep refrigerated and consume within two to three weeks for best flavour.

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I am bringing my recipe to Full Plate Thursday #746 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.