Tag archive for artichoke

I come from a family of people who linger. I don’t need to share all of the details, but there is this epic story of my dad sipping a latte all the way from Vancouver proper up to Whistler. It is a bit of a drive and most people would have finished the drink in the walk between the coffee shop and the car. And while I won’t be found sipping up the last drops of coffee from my cup hours later, I’ll likely be lingering too long over something else.

One of my favorite places to linger has to be the kitchen. I know some people feel like the kitchen houses the equipment needed to prep a meal and once that is done, get out! At my house, the kitchen seems to be the focal point of the whole house. Throughout the day, many hours are spent in this room—we wake up there with cups of warm coffee and wrap up the evening there too, trying to fit in bits of conversation over the happy sounds of the boy playing close by. And when we’re enjoying a relaxing meal, it seems like the perfect time to bring out the artichokes.

Artichokes are really in season two times a year—spring and then again in the fall. Of course, these days it seems like one can find artichokes no matter what time of year. But I like finding them in season for better selection and price. More artichoke meals for my dollar, you know?

Don’t be fooled into thinking that bigger is always better. With artichokes, one must consider the pot size needed to cook these beauties. If the artichoke gets too big, it might almost require its own pot for cooking, which is not great when you are cooking for friends! And speaking of friends, that is where this recipe comes from.

For the better part of my life, artichokes have always been cooked in a pot of boiling water. It works well, but plan accordingly because it can take a while to cook a pot of artichokes. Then, a few years back, I stumbled over the idea of roasting artichokes. It might take even longer than the boiling routing, but the flavor that builds up is amazing. And talk about simple, just slide the pot into oven and wait for an hour or two.

But what about that day when you decide to make artichokes for lunch with friends? It’s a great idea, sitting around the table chatting and pulling leaves off of piles of artichokes. In that case, you’d better have a plan up your sleeve. And what’s where this gem of a recipe comes in. Feed a few or a crowd, this tasty preparation is sure to be a hit.

My “recipe” is a little loose because it is dependant on how many are eating, the size of the artichokes and what else will be served with the meal. With the large artichokes that are in season now, I usually plan on half an artichoke per person. It leaves room to serve a few other dishes alongside it. And don’t even think about substituting the butter out for olive oil or anything else. The browned butter that results is so very important to the flavor that developes in this dish.
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Braised artichokes

Artichokes, washed and trimmed

Butter

Chicken broth

White wine, optional

Fresh herbs, optional (I used a few sprigs of thyme, sage, rosemary and fennel)

To prepare the artichokes, slice in half, starting with the stem first. The artichokes will begin to darken as soon as they are cut, so work with one artichoke at a time. Scoop out the choke and some of the smallest leaves.

In a large pan, melt a generous pat of butter over medium-high heat and add the artichokes, cut side down. Allow to cook until beautifully golden and fragrant, about seven to 10 minutes. Don’t hesitate to add a little more butter if the pan looks dry. Add enough broth and wine, if using, to cover the bottom of the pan to about ½-inch deep. Nestle the herbs in the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium and cover with a lid.

Allow to cook for about 20 minutes, checking to ensure there is enough cooking liquid at about the 10-minute mark. If not, add a little more liquid. Check for doneness by poking the heart with a knife, very gently of course! The knife should go in easily, much like a properly cooked potato.

Remove from heat and serve immediately. Garnish with dipping sauces as desired.

Last week we journeyed out to a local farm together and this week I am pleased to invite you to my table. With the amount of rain that has been falling here on the coast, hearty comfort foods have seemed like the best use of the produce that I had picked up on the farm.

Three vegetables that really shout out fall and comfort to me are: artichokes of course, brussels sprouts and pumpkins. Now I want to talk about these three guys for a few different reasons, firstly because artichokes are my favourite and I don’t think enough people eat them, secondly brussels sprouts are delicious and should show up of your table more often than just at Thanksgiving and finally because a stuffed and baked pumpkin is an amazing show stopper of a dish.

Here are a few of my current favourite ways to prepare these fall lovelies:
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Raisins 


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Braised Artichoke with Griddled Polenta Cakes with Caramelized Onions, Goat  Cheese, and Honey

Pumpkin stuffed with everything good, take a look at Ginger’s version that she shared with us last fall and of course Dorie Greenspan’s recipe which inspirered all this pumpkin craziness in the first place.

I hope that these lovely (if I do say so myself) dishes from my table will inspire you to partake in some of the bounties of fall.

What happens when you mix a farm with a table? You get a fable! hahahahah. Anywho, farm to table is a term that you hear thrown around alot these days. So when I went to the farm I decided that I would have to bring home a bunch of stuff that you are sure to see on my table in the not so distant future. The farm is an excellent place to spend a warm fall afternoon, not only are there often big hairy cows, goats and donkeys, but you can sometimes find really cool things like a real live artichoke patch!

I have been an artichoke addict for my whole life, seriously, since I was a small child I have always loved them. Ginger and I grew up in a small town where artichokes were few and far between. When they did show up in the grocery they were a very special treat. Thinking back to my childhood, the thing that strikes me as funny is that some how we never grew artichokes in our garden. We had a huge garden filled with just about anything you could think of, but for some reason, no artichokes. Crazy I know, being that all four of us love them. Anyway, you can imagine my delight when as we drove onto Westham island I spied a sign that read: Organic Artichokes, next right.

We turned right and took the farm by storm! We explored the pumpkin patch, visited the animals…

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Until we found them, the beautiful rows of flowering artichokes…

Artichokes are pretty plentiful right now and that is a good thing because I love them. My wish has been to have a plant of my own and this spring I almost committed to devoting a big section of garden to give it a try. But alas, the variety of everything else that I could likely grow in that space won out and artichokes will have to wait for another, more spacious, garden. And in the meantime the grocery store keeps me well stocked and I’m buying and eating them up! Steamed, braised or baked, artichokes are a happy addition to our meals.

One thing I can’t seem to find around here are the baby artichokes. Stop by a fresh market in any big city and you’ll likely find the baby artichokes sitting shoulder to shoulder with the fiddlehead ferns and the fava beans. And honestly, it wasn’t so hard to deal with their absence as I had little idea what to do with them until I stumbled onto a recipe in the May issue of Food and Wine.

It wouldn’t be completely true to tell you I journeyed across the mountains for these artichokes. But since I did make a trek to do a half marathon with my sister, it was pretty convenient to find myself some artichokes along the way. And the rest is history.

And while the prepared artichoke hearts you can purchase just about everywhere are one thing, perfect for cheesy dips and bakes, these are totally another matter. First, they taste different. And there are no tough leaves like I always run into when I get the prepared ones. They are, however, a tad time-consuming.

There is nothing difficult about them – it actually makes pleasant work for a quiet hour in the kitchen. But peeling and prepping a bag of baby artichokes down to a small dish of deliciousness is a bit of a labor of love. What this recipe has going for it is flavor. Artichoke hearts seem to sing in this preparation. And make sure to let them – don’t hide these little gems in a salad or mixed into anything else. They are a perfect little appetizer garnished just as they’ve been marinated.

Baby Artichoke Hearts with Dill and Ginger

Adapted from the Food and Wine recipe, May 2012

(Sorry, I couldn’t find the link)

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20 baby artichokes

1/2 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons dill, chopped

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

Heat a medium saucepan of water and season generously with salt.

Fill a large bowl with water and squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bowl. Add the lemon half to the bowl. One at a time, cut off the base of the artichoke and remove the dark outer leaves and any dark spots. Don’t worry about wasting a few extra leaves at this point, the closer to the heart, the more tender the leaves. Cut off the top third of the artichoke to remove any thorns using a serrated knife. Rub the top and bottom of the artichoke with the lemon half and add it to the bowl. Continue with the rest of the artichokes.

Once the water in the prepared saucepan has boiled, drain the artichokes in the bowl and add them to the pot. Turn down the heat and let the artichokes simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes until they are tender. Drain the artichokes from the pot and pat dry.

To prepare the marinade, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, capers, dill and ginger in a shallow serving dish. Add the artichokes and toss to coat in the mixture. Cover the dish and refrigerate. Allow the artichokes to marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.