Another Birthday Dinner

We are having a dinner party for my husband's friend Joe. In his honor, I am cooking. The menu is garlic and peppercorn pork loin, sunchoke gratin with thyme and parmesan cheese, and green beans. For dessert we are having an apple/backberry pie with nutmeg.


I am excited to try the sunchokes. Recently a new grocery store opened in my town with an expanded produce department and I purchased the sunchokes there. I was not sure what to do with them but after a bit of investigation I found this recipe from Jamie Oliver:


INGREDIENTS
½ Crème Fraiche (Or Double Cream)
1 Lemon (Juiced)
2 Garlic Cloves (Peeled And Finely Chopped)
1 handful Fresh Thyme (Picked And Chopped)
Grated Parmesan (1 - 2 Handfuls)
3 handfuls Jerusalem Artichokes (Peeled And Sliced)
2 handfuls Stale Breadcrumbs
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Olive Oil


Method
Preheat your oven to 230C/450F.Gas 8.
In a bowl mix together your creme fraiche, lemon juice, garlic, half the thyme and most of the Parmesan, and season well to taste.
Thin out with around 6 to 8 tablespoons of water and throw in the sliced Jerusalem artichokes.
Mix well and place everything in an ovenproof baking dish. Cover with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Mix the bread crumbs, the remaining thyme and some salt and pepper with a touch of olive oil.
Remove the artichokes from the oven, discard the foil and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top.
Then sprinkle the flavored bread crumbs over the Parmesan. Use up all the bread crumbs.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the bread crumbs are golden. (If you're in a pokey pokey kind of mood, you can poke the artichokes about a bit - so some of the bread crumbs fall underneath them).
This makes it look more rustic instead of like a crumble