I bought a few sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes) at the green market on Sunday and since I wasn’t up to turning the oven on to roast them – my usual way with them -I turned them into another healthy salad for Steve’s lunch. I used my trusty Japanese Benriner vegetable turner to make zucchini strands which I tossed with shaved sunchoke and finely sliced nectarine. I dressed the salad with some lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and then sprinkled some black sesame seeds over the mix. It immediately became Steve’s new favorite.

A word about sunchokes in case you don’t know them: They are the tuber root of a type of sunflower – not the garden variety – that is a native to America. They are high in protein, potassium, fiber, and iron as well as the inulin which makes them a healthy choice for Type 2 diabetics. They are often used in place of potatoes although they have no starch and are slightly sweet. Nobody really knows where the name Jerusalem artichoke comes from, but the name sunchoke was given to them by Frieda Caplan whose company Frieda’s Finest Specialty Produce has introduced American cooks to many undiscovered vegetables and fruits.