GLORIOUS CALIFORNIA ARTICHOKES

April 30th, 2009

I grew up around the fertile Salinas Valley eating fresh artichokes almost every day. Artichokes are a member of the thistle family and are absolutely delicious, very healthy and can be prepared in a variety of ways. The Italians–particularly the Romans–are also crazy for them. In Italy there are over 18 different varieties of artichokes in all sizes. Here are 2 recipes that I like for preparing large globe artichokes and the smaller baby artichokes. When picking artichokes the leaves should be tightly closed and the chokes should weigh more than one thinks as they retain a lot of water. If the choke has loose brown leaves or is very light in weight it’s a sign it may be old.

GLOBE ARTICHOKES POACHED IN OLIVE OIL AND WATER

Ingredients (serves 2 or 4 if you cut the artichokes in half after cooking):

-2 large artichokes

-Extra virgin olive oil

-Coarse sea salt such as fleur de sel

-Water

-Lemon aioli (see below for recipe)

Cut the very top of the stem of the artichoke, leaving at least 2 inches intact. Using a bread knife cut the top part of the artichoke, about 1 inch. Don’t cut too much as we want to retain as many leaves as possible to enjoy with our aioli.

Fill a sauce pan with enough cold water (3 inches or so) to partially cover the artichokes. The chokes should be slightly less than half covered with water. Bring the water to a boil. Place the artichokes into the pan stem side down. Drizzle some extra virgin olive over them and sprinkle with some good coarse sea salt. Lower the heat to medium, cover and simmer the artichokes for about 20 minutes. The cooking time varies according to the size of the chokes. If the chokes are standing straight up in the pan there is no need to turn or flip them. However, if the chokes are slightly down on one side then flip using tongs after 20 minutes. Continue cooking and check for doneness at 30 minutes by piercing the stem with a sharp knife. The knife should go through with just a little resistance. I like my artichokes slightly al dente.

Once fully cooked remove from the pan using tongs. Squeeze any excess water from the bottom of the chokes. Place onto plates and cover with foil to keep warm or serve immediately with some house-made lemon aioli.

HOUSE-MADE LEMON AIOLI

Ingredients:

-Sunflower or Safflower oil

-1 best quality egg

-Pinch of salt

-Squeeze of lemon juice

While you can make aioli by hand it’s hard work and requires adding the oil very slowly whilst whisking vigorously the egg in a copper bowl. I recommend investing in a Breville hand-blender (see Brevilleusa.com for info) or you can just use a regular blender.

Take your egg at room temperature and crack it into a bowl or into your blender. Add the pinch of salt followed by the squeeze of lemon juice. Pour 1/4 cup of the sunflower oil into the bowl or blender. Begin emulsifying the egg with either your blender or hand-held device. Slowly pour in approximately 3/4 cup more oil or until the emulsion comes together and the aioli is nice and thick. Pour into a bowl and serve immediately or cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to use. Aioli keeps for about 2 days in the refrigerator.

BRAISED BABY ARTICHOKES WITH ROASTED POTATOES

This is a great dish to make for vegetarians and can also be paired with the globe artichokes for a complete meal. I love baby artichokes as most of them are young enough to not have a choke. This means you can eat the entire choke without worrying about choking on any thistles.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

-3 pounds of baby artichokes

-Sea salt

-Herbs de Provence. I like the mix of dried herbs from O & Company

-Extra virgin olive oil

-1 cup dry white wine

-1 bowl of accidulated water (Fill a bowl with water with the juice of 3 lemons. Leave the lemons themselves in the water as well. This will keep the chokes from rusting and turning brown while you are working).

Using your fingers peel the outer leaves of each choke until no more leaves easily come off. You will be left with a small choke with very young leaves. Cut off the bottom quarter of the choke and discard. Using a paring knife peel away the outer layer of the stem. Take care to preserve the stem for aesthetics. Cut the choke in half, length-wise and place into your bowl of accidualted water.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Remove your chokes from the water and pat dry with paper towels. Saute over high heat for 5-6 minutes. Once in the pan sprinkle a little fleur de sel and herbs de Provence. If using the mix from O & Company omit the salt as the mix already contains sea salt. Toss the artichokes until they are slightly carmelized.

Season with a bit more of the herb mix. Turn down the heat and pour in the white wine. Simmer on low for 4-5 minutes or until the chokes are cooked through. Serve on their own or with roasted potatoes to make an artichoke stew.

Entry Filed under: Recipe Postings, General Food Postings