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| Soon my pretty friend will be overloaded with thistles! |
. Driving along Highway 1 towards Monterey you see miles and miles of artichokes between the highway and the sea.I heard Alton Brown
on the Food Network
say that 100 percent of artichokes grown in the US are from Castroville. Not quite; our two plants may not equal one percent of the nation's product but it seems like it.By the way the first Castroville Artichoke Queen was a young actress named Norma Jean Mortenson
, soon to be known as Marilyn Monroe. Artichokes are amazing plants. Once the season is over you cut them back to practically nothing. The first time my wife did it I was sure she killed them but they come back vigorously.
Artichokes are nutritional powerhouses! One large artichoke has 25 calories, 6 grams of fiber (more than a cup of prunes) and lots of nutrients.
I was shocked the first time I saw a cook on TV describe how to deal with artichokes. He cut off the outer leaves, chopped the top off, peeled the base and wound up with the heart, some stem and a bit of the leaves. Heresy!
In my house growing up you cooked artichokes by dropping them whole into boiling acidulated water. The leaves were the best part! For a kid what better food could there be than something you picked up with you hands, dipped in butter and lemon juice then scrape the meat off the leaves with your teeth. You get to the bottom and easily scrape out the choke and eat the heart and as much of the stem as you can smoosh with your teeth.
How to cook artichokes
1) Get the freshest, best artichokes you can. If you pick it up and squeeze on it should squeak. Now they sell 'frost kissed' artichokes and claim they are the best ones. Nice try, artichoke marketing people. Look for nice firm green heads.
2) Start a big pot of water boiling. When it is boiling squeeze the juice of a lemon in there but do not drop the whole lemon into the pot which makes the artichokes bitter.
3) Sometimes artichokes house insects. While the water is heating up get a big bowl of cold water and add a handful of salt. Put the artichokes in and weight them down for 5 minutes. Take them out, rinse them well and check between the leaves for insects.
4) Have a cut lemon ready and wipe it against any surface that you cut. Cut off the end of the stem to get rid of the brown part. If you want take a large serrated knife
and cut the top off to get rid of the spines. If I am cooking for myself I don't bother.5) Drop the artichokes into the boiling water and cover. The cooking time will vary but it's not hard to tell when they are done. As soon as you can easily pull one of the leaves out it is done. Don't over cook them or they will be soft and tasteless.
If you are going to eat them later cool them immediately in an ice bath or cold running water.
We like to eat them with lemon juice or melted butter. I like a good vinaigrette with them.
You know you have done it right if everybody produces a big pile of leaves.
If you get the tiny artichokes that grow lower down on the plant they are good stuffed. The choke hasn't developed and if you cut the tops off frequently you can eat them whole. I used to stuff them with bread crumbs, garlic (we are close to Gilroy, too), mushrooms and pine nuts.
And I leave this for last, the bad news. They are so much better right off the plant and cooked right away it is like a different food. And I mean right away. Cooked ten minutes later they don't taste the same and the texture is not as good. We are so spoiled...
