ARTICHOKES – CARCIOFI – THE FIRST SIGHT OF SPRING IN THE MAREMMA ITALY
Ah, the Artichoke, YUM!
Curious to look at, prickly to the touch, delicious to eat, I love their curious form and taste of the artichoke.
I was particularly pleased when our Nancy proposed artichokes as the theme for Oil and Salt for her spring recipe for the feast that follows. Her choice left me determined to learn about the history of this odd-ball plant which we share, with pleasure, with you today.
Being from an Italian family with a grammy and mother who loved to cook them and experts in the art, we cherished and ate artichokes only when in season. My fondness for them, come March and April – harvest time, continues. When they’re available, although to a lesser degree, during the October and November harvest, I find myself in further anticipation to feast on them again, providing, of course, they remain dark green and firm.
Dating back to around 800 AD, the North African Moors cultivated the artichoke and another Arab group the Saracens introduced the edible flower, the “Al-garuchuf,” (the thistle,) to Italy and there it became the “articiocco,” artichoke in English. I once read eating the meat from the cooked petals and the stem core enhances the taste of a meal to follow. I can assure you from experience that this is true.
Enjoy Nancy’s recipes we present to you here that she has prepared with great love while in Tuscany.
It’s time, it’s March, the harvest is in. Mangia e diverti!
In Nancy’s words- For many years in the month of March, driving from the Rome airport through the Southern Maremma to our beach house in the ancient Etruscan village of Ansedonia, I have been struck and overjoyed at the sight of the massive fields of artichokes growing. The enormous spiny leaves growing close to the earth, artichoke heads floating about them, they are one of the first vegetables to arrive to the Maremma in the early spring, and they look as if they have sprung up overnight from the earth, much like their spring cousin, the asparagus. 
The sight inspires me and creates a desire to explore once again, the many ways they can be prepared: a delicate artichoke lasagna, artichoke risotto, artichoke salad, artichoke soup, and the two recipes presented below.
Artichokes are also healthy! The ancient Roman Pliny wrote about the artichoke, describing it as a fertility goddess, and the Etruscans thought so too. Romans considered artichokes to have diuretic properties, and recent science confirms this, as well as antioxidant and detoxing properties.
Some are familiar with the famous Roman artichoke -the first vegetable in Italy to receive the PGI classification, Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). PGI makes certain that the region where something is grown and its characteristics have a protected name, which can only be used for the product from that region, just as occurs with wine from specific regions, like Chianti from the Chianti region, and prosecco from northern Italy.
I am not going to lie to you, preparing artichokes for their final destination in the pan will require a bit of work. So, save it for a lazy Sunday, not a weeknight when everyone is feverishly waiting for the evening meal. But be warned, once you start producing meals that include artichokes, you will be cajoled, I would even say begged, to produce them more and more often.
Artichokes in the States are mainly grown in California, and only appear during season and until now, have mainly been very large artichokes, where you must take out the “choke” before cooking, a most unpleasant thing, or eat around it if you are making a stuffed artichoke. But lately I have been seeing very small artichokes popping up in certain grocery stores and if you have the opportunity, I would definitely grab those. I hope this is a sign that artichokes are becoming more popular in the States.
Here in Italy, artichokes are becoming more and more available during winter months as well, mainly coming from Sicily and places south. There are too many varieties to mention, but my favorite will always be the Spring artichoke, which carries a promise of warmer days.
An alternative, if you are making braised artichoke hearts, are frozen artichoke hearts, which I have also seen in groceries lately. If you choose them to make braised artichokes, you will have to be prepared to allow much of the extra liquid they include to steam off, in order to create the crisped edged – but still soft inside – dish you would get with fresh artichokes.
These two recipes are from heart and history.
I learned to make braised artichokes from my husband’s Aunt Lina. Zia Lina is from Naples. She had a catalog of recipes, all inside her head, and if you visited her at any time of day there was something always cooked and ready to serve from the tiny pans on her stove. My family is crazy for these artichokes, and I make them often during the season. The only absolute requirements, fresh garlic, good olive oil and nutritious salt.
The stuffed artichokes are from a memory further back, when I was in high school, going to my friends Lila’s house in the afternoon and encountering an unfamiliar but amazing smell – her mother’s stuffed artichokes. This was the first time I experienced the artichoke – the aroma and the taste, heavenly. I do not have her recipe, but I do remember what they looked and tasted like, so I have since attempted to replicated that.
Measurements are estimated, and you may need to add more olive oil and salt as you go along.
I believe that … baking is a science, but cooking is an art…
BRAISED ARTICHOKE HEARTS DI ZIA LINA
- 1/2 Lemon
- 2 cups water
- 6 Artichokes, the smaller the better
- 3 Tbs garlic
- 4-5 Tbs Torre di Gamberaia olive oil
- 2 tsp. Rivesaline Ile de Re Sel Sec salt, separated.
Pour the lemon juice into the water. Do this in advance as you will immediately plunge the artichokes into the bowl as you prepare each one.
Prepare the artichokes. Cut off the stem. Pull off all of the leaves of the artichokes until you reach a point where the base of the artichoke is a rosy yellow color and the bottom of the leaves are soft. Then cut off whatever of the spiny top is left. Now you are left with the artichoke heart. Cut it in half, or quarters if they are large, and place in the bowl with the lemon water, this will keep it from turning too brown.
Warm the garlic in 2 Tbs olive oil in a heavy saute’ pan until starting to turn golden, drain the artichokes, removing excess water with a paper towel. Add the chokes to the pan cut side down. Sprinkle 1/2 of salt over the top. Turn the heat up for a few seconds to get the pan hot, then cover and turn down to low heat. Keep an eye, do not allow to burn. You may have to add more olive oil and salt to prevent this!
When slightly browned on the bottom turn over and add another ½ salt. The salt is essential to make the artichokes sweat their water. Repeat the step above for the second side.
After the artichoke halves are browned on both sides, allow them to continue cooking until soft and tender. By now the garlic and olive oil will have created a thick and gooey covering.
Serve and add more salt to your taste.
NOTES: Although it may seem to be an exorbitant amount of salt and oil, artichokes are bitter, and the salt mellows the bitterness, while the artichoke absorb the oil like little sponges.
STUFFED ARTICHOKES MAMMA DI LELA
- 6-8 Artichokes
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 teaspoons breadcrumbs, fresh or dried
- 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- ½ cup Torre di Gamberaia extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Rivesaline Il de Re Persillade salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Break off the stems of the artichoke. You may peel and chop them to add to the stuffing if you like, but only the tender parts. Level the bottoms of the artichoke so they will sit up in the pan. Cut off the hard tips of the leaves with scissors or a knife. Gently pull the leaves to separate slightly. As each is prepared, rub its cut sides with cut side of the lemon.
Combine the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley and 1 Tbs oil and ½ tsp. of the salt and some pepper.
Press the stuffing between the artichoke leaves, attempting to insert the stuffing as much as possible between the leaves.
Place the stuffed artichokes in a baking pan, preferably ceramic, and dribble some more olive oil on top, and sprinkle with ½ tsp of the salt and pepper. Add the broth to the bottom of the pan and bake for one hour, basting them about every 15 minutes until the bottoms are tender.
Place artichokes in serving plate and top with more olive oil. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
To enjoy these, you must take each leaf separately and scrape the stuffing and tender bottom of the leaf off with your teeth. When the leaves are finished, scrape off the spines of the choke and now you will enjoy the best part – the bottom of the artichoke – the heart!
Perhaps not a dish for an elegant dinner party, but more to share with family and good friends. These are great to prepare in advance and serve at an outdoor barbecue as well.
NOTE: You may also choose to add grated parmesan cheese to the stuffing, just be sure in that case to cut back on the salt. You can also add fresh mint if you have some!
See you next month!
