cooking with nothing

Hypoallergenic artichokes with garlic and parsley

I wrote a recent post about trying to eat seasonally and this week, I decided to tackle a vege I’ve been avoiding cooking with: the artichoke. Maybe it’s the spiky, hedgehog-like appearance that makes me feel like the artichoke is protecting itself from prey (i.e. me). In fact, I only tried my first whole one a few months ago, with a friend coaching me through the whole ‘eat it leaf by leaf until you get to the heart’ process.

So, here’s the recipe (which also happens to be hypoallergenic!) courtesy of Cuisine magazine. It was delicious and perfect to share with a spread of nibbles.

Serves 6 as a starter

• 1 x lemon, sliced
  
• 3 x large globe artichokes
• 1 cup x flat-leaf parsley
• 2 x garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp x sea salt
• 3 x TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Place the lemon slices in a bowl of cold water. Cut the stalks off the artichokes and, if the leaves are spiky, cut off the tips with scissors. Immediately immerse the artichokes, once trimmed, in the lemon water. This prevents them from turning brown.

Place the parsley, garlic and salt on a chopping board and chop very finely with a knife or an Italian mezzaluna (half-moon blade). Take the artichokes one at a time from the water, open the central leaves with your fingers to reveal the ‘heart’ and fill with some of the parsley stuffing.

Place the artichokes, facing upwards, in a saucepan that just holds them and drizzle the cores with oil. Fill the saucepan with cold water to halfway up the artichokes, cover then simmer on low.

Cooking time depends on the size and firmness of the vegetables. Allow at least 45 minutes. Check regularly that there is enough water, adding more if necessary.

The artichokes are ready when the outer leaves can be pulled off easily. Serve hot. Each diner pulls off a leaf at a time. To eat the outer leaves (these are the best!) scrape the flesh off with your teeth. The hard bits are discarded on the side of the plate. Once you reach the artichoke heart it can be cut with a knife and fork or eaten whole. Save the artichoke water – it makes great stock for risotto.

I’ve taken the advice and saved the artichoke water to make a mushroom spelt risotto for tonight’s dinner. Results will be posted later this week!

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