Sautéed Jerusalem artichokes with garlic and bay leaves

What is that?, I asked myself when I saw this vegetable. A Jerusalem artichoke, apparently. Never seen one before!

According to Wikipedia, the Jerusalem artichoke, also called sunroot, sunchoke or earth apple, is a species of sunflower native to central North America. It is also cultivated (...) for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.

Ok, so what I bought is the tuber, the root of the Jerusalem artichoke. But what to do with it? 

The seller told me to cook it like a potato. Searching online, I found this recipe. I have all the ingredients at home and it's easy to cook. 

We were happily surprised with the end result. It has a crisp outside with a softer core and it has a sweet taste.

I will definitely buy it again!

Serves: 4 persons (as a side dish).

Ingredients:

• 600g Jerusalem artichokes
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• olive oil to taste
• 1 splash of rice vinegar (the recipe called for white wine but I use rice at home)
• salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Jerusalem artichokes can be peeled or scraped with a spoon but I decided to scrub them with a vegetable brush and just cut of the bruised bits. I was left with 550g after cleaned.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Cut them into chunks. 
3. Place them in a oiled frying pan and fry on a medium heat until golden on both sides.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add the bay leaves and the garlic cloves, a splash of vinegar and salt & pepper to taste. Place a lid on top.
   
   
   
5. After about 20-25 min they will have softened up nicely and you can remove the lid and bay leaves.
6. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes to crisp the artichokes one last time.
   
   
   
7. Serve immediately.