Sunday, November 28, 2010

Jerusalem Artichoke/Parsnip Puree with Chicken Sausage

Thanksgiving leftovers have created the most superb dish I have had in some time, and I think it can be duplicated.
Four Jerusalem artichokes were a present from an acquaintance who has a yard full she has been harvesting. I sacrificed one root that I broke into pieces and introduced into the loam at the back of the garden just as the bad weather hit. I hope they will contribute yellow sunflower-like flowers next spring, and plenty of sunchokes in the fall.
I cleaned and chunked the remaining three sunchoke roots, unpeeled, with two parsnips,cooking them in a couple of inches of salted water before draining them into yet another glass casserole dish with some fat-free half and half and chunks of a low-fat herb cheese, thrown into the oven at the last minute.
The leftovers were intriguing, but lack something. I spooned them into a glass baking dish and cobbled up a garlic-heavy bechamel sauce, using cornstarch, a little grated parmesan and evaporated milk, plus snippets of leftover turkey bacon from breakfast, which made them a little more acceptable to Mom.
However, there were still some leftovers Sunday night, and I ventured into new territory.
Into a small non-stick skillet, I added a little water, two Beeman's smoked gouda/artichoke chicken sausages, about 1/2 tsp. harissa paste from a tube, an equal amount of Bufalo Chipotle sauce, and some garlic paste, also from a tube.
The sausages cooked in about five minutes. I cut them up and added the leftover Jerusalem artichoke and parsnip casserole, plus a little evaporated milk to extend the sauce. I smashed up a few of the largest chunks of Jerusalem artichoke and parsnip, and it turned into the most exquisite puree plus sausage chunks, something that could be served in a ramekin in the finest restaurant without apology.
I'm eating it in a bowl right now, and it's so tasty, it has snapped me right out of a profound funk.
Thanks, again.

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Pause that refreshes

Pause that refreshes
taken at Trout Lake Arts Fest