As the growing season winds down, a perhaps unfamilar vegetable is available in abundance. It’s the Jerusalem artichoke, a tuber that becomes sweeter after the first frost and can be eaten raw (think salads and relish trays) and cooked.

Like most vegetables, it’s fat-free and has almost no sodium. A cup, eaten raw, has 109 calories, 3 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.

Here’s how an upcoming cookbook, The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: the Essential Recipe Collection for Today’s Home Cook (Free Press, $34.95) describes Jerusalem artichokes: “Despite their name, Jerusalem artichokes are neither from Jerusalem nor a relative of the artichoke. Native to North America, and also known as sunchokes, these small, pale beige tubers of the sunflower plant have a sweet, earthy, nutty flavor that is reminiscent of artichokes. If you peel or cut the tubers while they are raw, sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent darkening. They are wonderful made into a gratin or boiled and mashed with potatoes.”

Williams-Sonoma Cookbook accompanies that description with the following recipe, one of 370 in the collection. The book, which is due in stores Oct. 21, is beautifully illustrated with photos of the finished dishes and, often, the raw ingredients. Notes that accompany each recipe touch on ingredients, equipment and techniques.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE GRATIN

Yield: 4 servings

Salt

2 pounds Jerusalem artichokes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup heavy cream, divided

Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of salted water to a boil. Add Jerusalem artichokes and boil until just tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain. When cool enough to handle, peel them, rubbing the skins off with your fingers or removing the skins with a paring knife. Cut into rounds 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an oval gratin dish (about 13 inch long and 9 inches wide).

Cover the bottom of the gratin dish with a layer of Jerusalem artichoke slices, overlapping them slightly. Dot with some of the butter, sprinkle with some of the parsley and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Repeat the layering until you have used all those ingredients. Pour 2/3 cup cream evenly over the surface.

Bake until the top is crusty and the cream has become custardlike, 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, add remaining 1/3 cup cream, and return to the oven. Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake until the surface of the gratin is golden brown, crusty and sizzling, about 15 minutes. Serve at once, directly from the pan.

Recipe and photo from Williams-Sonoma Cookbook.