Roast Chicken with Jerusalem Artichoke (Sunchoke) and Mint-Garlic-Lemon Dressing

A few years ago, I had an amazing Jerusalem artichoke dish cooked with mint that my talented mother-in-law made. I immediately fell in love with this root. Before this, I’d only ever eaten it pickled. You have to try pickled Jerusalem artichokes. They are amazingly crunchy.  When cooked, the root becomes soft with a wonderful nuttiness and underlying sweetness to it.  The mint was such a perfect match with the root. I wanted to create a meal out of this minty dish, so I added chicken and finished it off with a garlic-lemon dressing. This recipe calls for loads of raw garlic to be mixed into the roast chicken and Jerusalem artichoke dish at the end. I hope that doesn’t scare off anyone. Just prepare others in advance of your major garlic breath.

Jerusalem Artichokes are a bit of trouble to prep. There are knobs and grooves galore. I think they are so worth the work. Peeling the Jerusalem Artichokes might take you about 20 minutes. The cooking part takes slightly over an hour, and the garlic-lemon dressing can be made while the chicken roasts.

Here is what you’ll need:

• 6 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 pounds chicken pieces, bone in, skin-on
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper
• 1 and 1/2 pounds Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), peeled and cut lengthwise
• 2 tsp. dried mint
• 10 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400F, or 200C

Using a peeler, peel the sunchokes and slice them lengthwise. This will take a bit of time because of the groves, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Put about 3 tbsp. olive oil into a large braiser and heat on medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the Aleppo pepper, allspice, salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the chicken to the braiser skin side down. Cook on all sides until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Take out the chicken and set aside.

Turn down the heat to medium, add the Jerusalem artichokes to the braiser, and saute for about 10 minutes. Add the mint and the chicken back to the braiser and mix well. Place the chicken pieces skin side up, cover the braiser, and put in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes with the cover on and a further 10 minutes without the cover.

While the chicken is in the oven, make the garlic-lemon dressing. Place garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive-oil, and a pinch of salt in a food processor or blender. Spin for a few minutes and add the lemon juice. Spin for another minute until the dressing is well blended.

Pour the garlic-lemon dressing over the chicken and Jerusalem artichokes and toss well to mix. Serve with couscous or rice.