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Globe Artichokes October 18, 2007
I recently enjoyed a globe artichoke feast. I bought a bag of them at my local market and the plan was to share them with the family as a pre-dinner treat. I put in the hard yards trimming the leaves and generally preparing these beauties for cooking, made a luscious dipping sauce out of some excellent olive oil and juicy lemons and eagerly called the troops to the table. My treat received a less than enthusiastic reception. Apparently I’d tried the same dish on the sons when they were small boys and they’ve never managed to overcome their initial aversion to Cynara scolymus. While they will now eat eggplant, zucchini, broad beans and other vegetables I tried to “poison” them with in their childhood, they were never tempted to acquire a taste for artichokes. Far from getting upset about it, I quickly removed their rejected dishes to the refrigerator for a private lunchtime scoff the next day. The Spouse who loves baby roasted artichokes from the deli but is not so keen on the fresh artichoke-eating rigmarole, soldiered on in spite of being told he didn’t have to eat his one if it was too much like hard work. Never mind. I ended up with three out of four. The artichoke season runs from now through to December, with supplies dwindling off through to February. I visited the Montalto vineyard south of Melbourne last weekend. They have a wonderful vegetable and herb garden, supplying some of the produce for their award winning on-site restaurant. I noted a lot of globe artichokes had been planted and one stand, flanked by beautiful blue borage flowers, was ready for picking (picture above). Funnily enough, wine doesn’t really go with globe artichokes. They contain an organic acid called cynarin which has a peculiar effect on the taste buds, making water taste sweet and altering the flavour of wine. When shopping for artichokes, choose those with a fresh bright colour and a solid feel, rather than loose leaves.
Globes artichokes with lemon dressing Artichokes Pull the first tough outer leaves off each artichoke then remove most of the stalk and trim the bases. I usually cut off the tops of the remaining leaves with a sharp cook’s knife, or with scissors. You can pull out the chokes or furry flower part before or after cooking. I leave them in as they come away more easily when the artichoke is cooked. Simmer the artichokes in salted water to which you should add the juice of a lemon to prevent browning. The heads are cooked when the outer leaves pull away easily. Drain and rest on paper towels to soak up any excess water. For the dressing, peel a little zest off one of the remaining lemons and whisk together the juice of both lemons, zest, oil and seasoning. Provide diners with individual dishes of dipping sauce. Pull the leaves off one at a time and dip in the dressing then pull the base of the leaves through your teeth to remove the tender fleshy part. Discard the remainder of the leaf. Remove the choke and enjoy the tender heart. Artichokes can also be served with hollandaise sauce or with melted butter.
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