Smashed Sunchokes With Thyme-Butter

Enriched with butter and thyme and the perfect side dish for any fall or spring meal.

By
Sho Spaeth
Sho Spaeth
Sho Spaeth
Senior Editor
Sho Spaeth has worked in publishing and media for 16 years. Prior to joining Serious Eats, he worked at The New York Times for a decade. Sho has written for Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Baffler Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, among other publications.
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Updated September 25, 2023
Smashed sunchokes with thyme-butter on a plate.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Salting the boiling water ensures the sunchokes are properly seasoned.
  • Flattening the sunchokes after boiling provides an even surface for browning in a skillet.
  • Adding butter toward the end ensures it won't burn.

Sunchokes, which also go by the name Jerusalem artichokes, are edible tubers that are in season during the fall and the spring. You can prepare sunchokes in a number of different ways, including raw, but we're partial to the simplicity of this method, in which they're treated in the same way you would a small potato, like a fingerling. The cleaned and trimmed sunchokes are boiled in salted water until just tender, smashed, then fried crisp in a cast iron pan, and right at the end are tossed with butter, for richness, and some freshly picked thyme leaves.

September 2019

Recipe Details

Smashed Sunchokes With Thyme-Butter

Prep 10 mins
Cook 25 mins
Active 10 mins
Total 35 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (450g) sunchokes, rinsed and trimmed of any dark spots

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (20ml) canola or other neutral oil

  • 2 tablespoons (1 ounce; 30g) unsalted butter

  • Large pinch freshly picked thyme leaves

  • Flaky salt, such as Maldon, for serving

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, cover sunchokes with 1 inch cold water. Season generously with salt (the water should taste nicely salted, as if you were seasoning soup). Set over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until paring knife inserted into a sunchoke meets little resistance, about 10 minutes; be careful not to overcook.

  2. Drain sunchokes using fine-mesh strainer or colander. When cool enough to handle, place sunchokes on work surface or cutting board. Working 1 sunchoke at a time, use the bottom of a heavy skillet to press firmly on each sunchoke until it is flattened but still in one piece; take care not to press so hard that the sunchokes break apart.

    A three-image collage. The left shows a sunchoke on a wooden surface. The middle shows the sunchoke being smashed by a pan. The right image shows a smashed sunchoke.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  3. In a large cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add sunchokes in a single layer and cook without moving until well browned, about 3 minutes. Flip sunchokes, then add butter to the pan and allow to melt. Add half of thyme to the melted butter and continue to cook, spooning butter over sunchokes, until browned on the second side, about 3 minutes longer.

    Smashed sunchokes cooking in a cast iron skillet. A spoon is basting the fat on the sunchokes.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  4. Transfer sunchokes to a serving plate and spoon the thyme butter on top. Garnish with remaining freshly picked thyme leaves and sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve immediately.

    Smashed cooked sunchokes resting on a plate.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Special Equipment

12-inch cast iron skillet, fine-mesh strainer, saucepan

Make-Ahead and Storage

The sunchokes can be boiled up to 1 day in advance, then drained, pressed flat, and refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to use. They will re-warm during the searing and basting step.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
167 Calories
10g Fat
20g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 167
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 12%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 16mg 5%
Sodium 400mg 17%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 5mg 23%
Calcium 18mg 1%
Iron 4mg 21%
Potassium 485mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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