Sprouts in the City Episode 5

Sunchokes are such an underrated vegetable. So underrated in fact that most people don’t know what they are. I became familiar with these vegetables when I started working at Aquavit, we would make a delicious confit sunchokes. The texture was like mashed potatoes but the flavour was very complex and nutty. Super delicious.

When I was starting my urban garden I was looking for healthy beautiful edible plants that I could use as a screen to block my NYC neighbours from peeping into my garden from their living rooms. I realized that sunchokes are just a form of sunflower, and they grow tall with wide leaves and a strong stalk, the perfect edible privacy plant. They pretty much grow like a weed so you have to be careful where you put them, but if you like them they are the plant that keeps on giving!

They are an extremely nutritious tuber that actually has zero starch so it’s a great veggie for people who are limiting carbs. They are high in potassium, iron and thymine and insoluble fiber which is really healthy. They are packed with the insoluble starch inulin that has strong pre-biotic effects, meaning your gut bacteria love it. Talk about super food!