Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here!
Today, I’m featuring one of the most quintessentially California foods, the artichoke. Although native to the Mediterranean, artichokes for US consumption are grown almost entirely in California’s fertile Central Valley. And, fun fact–while thought of as a vegetable, technically, they are an edible flower! They are quite photogenic members of the thistle family and can be seen growing as part of the landscape in many a Silicon Valley lawn, but artichokes also great grilled:
When choosing an artichoke, look for a “bud” that has leaves that are highly clustered and compact. The one pictured below already has the tips clipped off, but the tips of the leaves will be sharp and need to be clipped off using either a pair of sharp kitchen shears (this is how I usually do it), or just clean chopped off with a very sharp knife. Either way, you’ll probably want to wear at least plastic gloves for this step, as the tips are sharp and the artichoke has a kind of waxy/sticky residue on it that will leave your hands tasting bitter. When doing this step, have a half a lemon on hand to immediately wipe onto the exposed flesh of the artichoke as you cut it, or it will oxidize and turn dark very quickly. The shiny, little bits of stuff you see on the leaves of the artichoke below are the lemon segments and juice.
Mr. Stone Soup dismisses them as too much trouble to make and not enough of a yield food-wise to bother with, but I quite like them. The flavor is mild, sort of nutty, maybe a little buttery, and the texture is kind of like an overcooked asparagus. A lot of folks like them dipped in mayonnaise or aioli, but I like them dipped in just my basic vinaigrette because it cuts though what tastes a little buttery-fatty to me. The heart provides the most “meat,” but as an appetizer, it’s fun to pull the leaves off the flower, dip them in sauce and scrape the meat off the bottom of the leaf (or actually petal, I guess) with your teeth. It’s true that there’s not much bang for your buck in this California treat, but studies suggest that they are pretty good for you, being a good source of fiber, vitamin C and folate.
Grilling them requires a combination of steaming and then grilling, but it’s all pretty easy stuff–you just need a sharp knife and a little time.
Join me later in the week when I’ll be featuring grilled asparagus.
Until then,
Peace, love and good food!
Keri
