Turning heads: fields of summer yellow

Fields of summer yellow

Throughout the summer in Piedmont, you’ll regularly see the striking sight of field after field of sunflowers, soaking up the intense sun and blazing with golden yellow. As everyday as it is, it’s still one of those summer wonders, the uniform tilt and upward incline of literally thousands of giant flower heads and the sheer volume and intensity of the colour.

However, they’re not the only flower from the Helianthus family – of over 70 varieties – that lights up the land during the hot weather. Wild Jeruselem Artichokes, Helianthus Tuberosus Linnee, are also common, and burst with the same intense colour as sunflowers – only a much smaller flower - right at the end of the season. In fact, I always think of them as one of the botanical markers that summer is nearing its end, and evening mists will soon mark the arrival of autumn.  

But that’s not the end of their story, because of course long after Helianthus Tuberosus has died off, and we’ve swapped t-shirts for snug woolly jumpers, there are those delicious tubers that lie under ground. These can be harvested through winter and into spring and have been used in Piedmont cooking for generations. Not as fat as cultivar Jerusalem artichokes, they still make very good eating, and are added to vegetable purees and soups. Creamy artichoke soup, a typical local dish, with chestnuts and pancetta is especially delicious!

For now though, with August still ahead of us and summer still feeling like it will last forever, we can continue to enjoy their bigger, brasher cousins, magnificent summer sentries standing uniform and tall, in all their glory.