Jerusalem Artichokes and Potato au Gratin

Our last CSA shipment included Jerusalem Artichokes (aka sunchokes). Well, I had never heard of these, so I searched and searched on the Internet to find a way to cook them. This was one of the recipes I found (amazingly NOT from allrecipes.com) and it actually turned out really well. The picture doesn't do it justice (since you just see the top crust). My husband LOVED it!

Original recipe, here.

Ingredients:

• 6 Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
  
• 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• Salt
  
• Black pepper
• Cayenne
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup dried fine bread crumbs (I used a cup of crushed Ritz crackers)
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Essence seasoning, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes in a mixing bowl and season with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss to coat.
3. Butter the bottom and sides of a 2 quart baking dish. Put half of the artichoke-potato mixture in the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the chopped onions, 1 teaspoon of the chopped garlic, and 1/4 cup of the cheese and the flour. Top this with the remaining artichoke-potato mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup onions, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/2 cup cheese. Pour the milk over the mixture.
4. In a bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil with the bread crumbs, parsley and season with Essence. Spread this topping evenly over the mixture. Bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender.

Essence: (Emeril's Creole Seasoning)

• 2 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dried leaf oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme

Combine and store in an airtight container.

For those of you who aren't familiar, this is a picture of a sunchoke. They are a PAIN to peel and cut and look a lot like a little Alien plant to me. Although, once peeled and chopped, they remind me of a potato or turnip.