Hasselback Jerusalem Artichokes with Wild Garlic Butter

Wild garlic shoots have been spotted in the south and it never takes Instagram long at all to catch on to the start of wild garlic season. As soon as the young shoots emerge across the south of England there’s a frenzy of photographs and recipes and the excitement for a new year of foraging is palpable. Every year I gather wild garlic which I preserve in a few different ways, including in a slightly salted butter which I then freeze to use for wild garlic bread, new potatoes, steaks and more throughout the year.

It’s the start of one season, but the end of another as the Jerusalem artichokes that have seen us through the depths of winter finally wind down for another year. The popularity of hasselback potatoes and Ottolenghi’s hasselback beetroots inspired this recipe for what I think could be another hasselback classic: hasselback artichokes with wild garlic. After parboiling and roasting, Jerusalem artichokes become crunchy and nutty on the outside, with a fudgy centre and the consistency works brilliantly with the hasselback method. The wild garlic butter helps to really crisp up the skins, and although you could skip the breadcrumbs and parmesan if you like, they add extra texture and umami.

Jerusalem artichokes can sometimes have quite a thick skin, but the best ones for this recipe are those with fairly thin skins as you want to leave them on for their additional nutty, crunchy yumminess. If you’re new to using Jerusalem artichokes, I wrote this post with a few ideas of how to prepare and use them which you might find helpful. They should come with a bit of health warning when you first try them as they can be difficult to digest. I’ve heard that the effects can be reduced by boiling them in lemon juice, but I haven’t tried it myself. I tend to just try to go easy and not eat a whole plateful in one go…

Hasselback Jerusalem Artichokes with Wild Garlic Butter Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g Jerusalem artichokes
• 25g wild garlic butter (see this post for a recipe)
• 1/2 tbsp fine breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C Fan.
2. Parboil the artichokes for 15 minutes until they are tender, but not mushy. Strain and allow them to cool until you’re able to handle them.
3. Slice into your artichokes, making sure not to slice all the way through so they’re held together at the bottom, in intervals about the width of a pound coin so you have a good surface area to get nice and crispy. Lay them in a baking tray so they are in a single layer, cut side up.
4. Melt your wild garlic butter and generously pour over your artichokes, making sure that plenty gets into all of the nooks and crannies.
5. Cook your artichokes for 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and parmesan before returning to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Have a go yourself and tag me on Instagram @plotandlane so I can share too!