seriously, these are not grubs

I first heard of crosnes, pronounced crones, last year on one of the many food blogs I read. Then I saw them on a Spring-themed episode of Emeril Live. I think they really intrigued me for two reasons: their unlikely shape (a cross between a caterpillar and a tiny potato) and the fact that they are also called Chinese artichokes. Because I love artichokes. In any case I was near Union Square for some reason a couple of days ago so I decided to head over to the Greenmarket there to see what I could find. To my great surprise I found crosnes, and despite their relatively high price I purchased a full bag of them.

Raw they taste sort of like a water chestnut, cooked they were more like a potato. I wasn’t totally blown away by crosnes, but I am glad I had the opportunity to taste them.

Tagged: cooking, secret ingredient