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Contributing Editor Alanna has already started us down the path of the artichoke this spring, but this thistly edible could use some extra press. One post to plant the seed, another to coax you on, and maybe a few more before you’re convinced to actually cook them if you’re new to their preparation. After all, they’re intimidating with their thorny leaves and foreboding, though easily subdued, choke. But they’re also delicious and, once you learn how to handle them, fun to eat.
My Italian grandmother always stuffed them with garlic, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese, and so that’s my default recipe. I never appreciated them growing up, but now I really enjoy pulling the leaves off one by one, scraping a mix of garlicky stuffing and artichoke meat off the fibrous leaves with my teeth, until I reach the prized interior. I find the artichoke heart to have much in common with the human heart, figuratively speaking, in that you have to peel through multiple layers of tough protective covering as well as navigate the occasional booby trap in order to get to the tender part within. Some things take work and patience. Some things are worth it.
Here are a few recipes that do artichokes proud. Not sure how to trim an artichoke? Here’s a simple pictorial courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. But if you’re just not ready for that kind of commitment, use them canned or jarred first. It’s better than nothing. The fresh ones will come around again next spring.
Swiss chard and artichoke white pizza from Farmgirl Fare:
Crispy fried artichoke hearts from Life's Ambrosia:
Artichoke-olive crostini from Smitten Kitchen:
Tammy Donroe can also be found documenting the messy collision between food and life on her blog, Food on the Food.
