Between all the holidays, I find myself gravitating towards lighter meals. Bring on all the greens and vegetables. This is especially helpful when visiting the Sunday market- everything looks good. It's around this time of year I grab extra sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes). These cousins of the sunflower have a nice, warm flavor that's not overpowering.
The raw texture is a bit akin to potato and the roasted sunchoke has an extra lovely nutty flavor (like in this sunchoke salad). I also love this salad because it blatantly plays on the sunflower relationship (with the help toasted sunflower seeds!) Also, if you need a bit more inspiration about what to do with these delightful vegetables, this article has some amazing ideas!
With this being such a simple salad, the possibilities to change it are many. Really, anything outside of the sunchokes themselves can be swapped for ingredients you might already have on hand.
Greens: Swap out the spinach for kale or regular lettuce greens.
Nuts: I love sunflower seeds (because of the close relationship between sunflower and sunchokes). However, almonds slivers or chopped hazelnuts work well too.
Grains: This salad is fairly delicate and makes for a wonderful side. If you're looking to bulk it up a bit, adding whole grains like farro or sorghum would work well.
Sunchokes are relatively new to my kitchen but an ingredient with which I'm falling fast in love. I like to use it in conjunction with other fall/winter vegetables for its nutty, smooth flavor. Sunchokes also go by the name Jerusalem Artichokes but are not actually part of the artichoke family, rather they are part of the sunflower family. Look for sunchokes at farmers' markets or in the specialty section of the grocery store.
Sunchoke Kale Hash with Farro
Roasted Sunchoke Soup
Jerusalem Artichokes with Miso Butter