Carciofi...Artichokes

carThis entry is dedicated to probably my favorite vegetable. I love artichokes! I just really enjoy their tangy, distinct taste. But I would say this is a relatively new infatuation. Like with many foods, I grew a new-found appreciation for artichokes when I moved to Turin, Italy because while shopping in the local markets year-round, I actually saw what a bunch of vegetables actually look like in their natural state... before being canned and put on the shelves - they way we find a lot of things, like artichokes, in the majority of the United States. For all of you who grew up like me, even with parents who cooked mostly healthy meals, and still only saw artichokes come out of cans, here's what they look like!

I took the second picture this afternoon. The carciofi I used in all my creations below, I bought last weekend, and they cost significantly more, as you can see from the first picture. As the season matures, the prices fall with an increased supply.  In Italy, the carciofi are in high season in March and April.  They are a good diuretic (good for the urinary system) and good for cleaning out your liver, like after a night of debauchery. It’s also apparently a good source of iron and helpful in lowering cholesterol.[i]

I first endeavored to extract from these things what I knew as "artichoke hearts" a year ago. I evaluated various cooking methods online... All involve first cleaning away dirt, the outer leaves, and most of the stalk. Between boiling and steaming, I went with steaming because you loose less nutrients to the water.[ii] If you don’t have a fancy steaming pot or steamer, you can make a makeshift one like I did by punching holes in an aluminum pie tin, and then covering that during the steaming process with aluminum foil. For smaller artichokes, I steam them about 30 minutes, and for larger ones 40-45 minutes.

I tried out a bunch of new, and very simple recipes this year. First:

Insalata di Arance e Carciofi

(Orange and Artichoke Salad)

 

Ingredients:

-        One lemon

-        fresh spinach leaves

-        fresh, cleaned, raw artichokes

-        one orange (I used the “blood-orange” variety)

-        almond slices

-        olive oil

-        balsalmic vinegar

-        salt

Instructions:

1.     Prepare a bowl of cold water, fresh squeezed lemon juice (half of a lemon’s worth should suffice), and a pinch or two of flour (not sure what the flour does, but it was a suggestion from my friend’s Italian nonna (grandma) so I followed it). Let the artichokes soak for about an hour.

[PHOTO]

2.     Clean the spinach leaves by separating them from their stalks, rinsing them in cold water and shaking them dry. Then arrange them on a plate.

3.     Peel the orange and cut in slices (cutting from one side to the other, not splitting into the pieces naturally formed by the inner orange “skin”).  Arrange the orange pieces over the spinach.

4.     Take the artichokes out the water, cut off the tops (the pointy part), and peel out the harder, outer leaves. Cut the artichokes into thin strips and arrange on the salad.

5.     Toast the almond slices in a pan over medium heat on the stove and then sprinkle them over the salad.

6.     In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt.  Drizzle over the salad, and if you want spritz over everything a bit a lemon and enjoy!

For more recipes from where this one came from, click here and then use Google Translate to figure out what to do!

Next, a recipe I found on a Piedmont recipe website:

Carciofi Gratinati

(Artichoke Au Gratin)

Ingredients:

-        12 artichokes (fresh and raw)

-        1 lemon

-        olive oil

-        butter

-        half a clove of garlic

-        a handful of parsley (optional)

-        2 egg yolks

-        a large spoonful of breadcrumbs

-        a large spoonful of grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1.     Toast the breadcrumbs in a pan on the stove with a spoon of olive oil. Remove from the stove and set aside.

2.     Prepare a bowl of cold water, fresh squeezed lemon juice (half of a lemon’s worth should suffice), and a pinch or two of flour (not sure what the flour does, but it was a suggestion from my friend’s Italian nonna (grandma) so I followed it). Let the artichokes soak for about an hour.

[PHOTO]

3.     Take the artichokes out the water, cut off the tops (the pointy part), and peel out the harder, outer leaves. Cut the artichokes into thin strips.

4.     Then put the artichoke slices in a pan over medium heat on the stove with enough butter, and a bit of oil, a bit of parsley and the garlic. Let everything simmer and brown slowly.

5.     As the artichokes cook, add some water to help them take on a tender texture.

6.     In a bowl on the side, whisk together the two egg yolks, the breadcrumbs, the grated cheese, and the lemon juice.

7.     Pour this “cream” into the pan when the artichokes are soft and mix together fastly.

8.     Season with additional parslet, salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot!

These are two recipes using non-steamed artichokes. You can use steamed artichokes in a million ways… This week I made my favorite spinach and artichoke dip, and substituted toasted pita bread (not really available in Italy) with my favorite breadsticks from the local bakery (they’re covered with sesame seeds, soo good!).

I saved a few steamed artichokes in the fridge and made a simple salad for dinner post-Easter lunch feasting. I didn’t have any fresh basil, so I used dried basil, mozzarella, salt, and some fresh lemon juice to accompany these artichokes.

Have any artichoke recipes? I am always looking for new ways to eat them!

BACI!

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[i] http://www.bioexpress.it/0000009d1d07d8701/0000009d1d0d07211.html

[ii] http://www.oceanmist.com/products/how-to-prepare/how-to-steam-an-artichoke.aspx