Winter is here, and it’s time for artichokes! They have a unique taste, are rich in iron, vitamins, and minerals, and contain few calories (only 63 kcal per 10 oz). The characteristic bitter taste comes from the presence of cynarin, an active ingredient that helps the liver and kidneys detoxify the body and promotes intestinal health.
Thorny outside, but tender inside, the artichoke is a versatile food. It can be eaten fried in a pan, baked in the oven, or even raw in fresh and delicious salads. This makes it a perfect ingredient for your weekly or festive menu. If you’re short of ideas, look for one that can suit your needs from among the ideas below. But first, learn how to clean the artichokes without stinging or staining your hands.
Cleaning artichokes may look difficult, but don’t let pricky and thorny artichokes’ outsides keep you from cooking. Follow our tips—or watch the tutorial video here. If you don’t want to get your hands all black, wear gloves. With the help of a knife, remove the thorny tips and the first hard leaves, then cut the stem and peel it with a potato peeler. After that, cut the artichoke in half and remove the inner beard. Then place the cleaned artichoke in a bowl with water and lemon, until cooked, to prevent it from oxidizing and turning black.
Artichoke: appetizer
Looking for a fancy appetizer? Try this artichoke and broad bean salad. After you’ve cleaned the artichokes, blend the broad beans, together with soaked bread, anchovies, gherkins, oil, half a clove of garlic and chopped parsley. This will be the sauce to dress your artichokes as salad. Another delicious salad is one made with mullet bottarga. After cleaning the artichokes, cut some bottarga into small pieces and blend it with oil and a tablespoon of mustard. Together with the artichokes, add some radishes and avocado, both sliced. Complete with mozzarella, sliced bottarga, and emulsion.
Artichoke: first course
Nothing is better than lasagna, but if you want to propose them in a vegetarian version, or simply light, try this variation with artichokes and brie. After cleaning the artichokes, cut them into small pieces and blend them in a pan with oil and a clove of garlic. Once cooked, add them to the slices of brie and béchamel and use the mixture obtained to fill the sheets of pasta. Bake at 350°F degrees and cook for half an hour.
Artichoke: second course
As a second course, try stuffed artichokes. Here are two delicious and unusual versions. In the first, cut the cleaned artichokes in half, then boil them. In the meantime, mix some slices of loaf bread with grated cheese, salt, pepper, and mixed herbs. After filling the artichokes with the aromatic bread, bake them in the oven at 340°F for 10 minutes. The second version is more exotic: after removing the stalks from the artichokes and cleaning them well inside, dip them together with the stalks in boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. In the meantime, take some tahini sauce, add it to some Greek yogurt, oil and coriander and use it to stuff the artichokes.
