Gratin of artichokes

WHILE walking along the Saturday St Albans market I was surprised to see the first globe artichokes early for the spring season.

These lovely green purple flowers are only cooked by the adventurous or bunched and placed in a vase by their unadventurous admirers.

My experience with artichokes cynara scolymus has been limited although every year I will put them on my menu if I can find some really good ones for the customers. It's good to teach my apprentices these tricky jobs too.

The globe artichoke originates from Sicily and is loved by the Italians and regarded in France later as a remedy for the elderly with a melancholy disposition.

Here in Britain it is not widely produced, leaving it to the sun-kissed areas of France, Italy and Spain.

The globe artichoke is part of the thistle family; the edible part is the flower bud, also the ends of the middle leaves, which I have used as scoops with a salsa or sauce.

Size does not equal quality in these plants you should look for heaviness and tight leaves. Curly leaves and bendy stalks indicate they have been picked long ago and once cut you will be disappointed.

The taste of an artichoke is unusual; you will either love them or hate them. I wouldn't put them into the acquired tastes bracket though they are delicious on pizza, tossed through pasta or sauteed with herbs, olive oil and breadcrumbs to accompany any meal.

There is also the Jerusalem artichoke, which is from the root family and bears no relation to the globe.

This recipe is one of Stephanie Alexander's recipes, somone that I admire as a great chef in Australia.

She has travelled the world of food and researched all species plants and animals. She is creative yet believes in simplicity. I have made a version of her recipe. Enjoy your first artichokes they are worth it even if you only try once.

* Ruth Hurren is head chef at Darcys restaurant, St Albans, telephone 01727 730777.

Gratin of artichokes

To stuff an artichoke

Cut through the artichoke leaves about halfway from the bottom of the vegetable.

Snap off the outside leaves until you reach the pale yellow ones.

Rub it quickly with lots of lemon otherwise it will start to discolour.

Using a melon baller, hollow out the middle, discarding any purple-tinged bits, stand them in acid diluted water until ready with stuffing.

Discolouring makes a bitter taste and an awful grey look, so this is a start-to-finish job.

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic; 2 large onions, finely sliced into rings; olive oil; 1 bay leaf; 1 sprig of thyme; 6 artichokes; 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs; 3 anchovy fillets; cup fresh chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper.

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C. Finely slice three of the garlic cloves and mix with the garlic rings.

Pour a generous film of oil into a shallow gratin dish that will hold the artichokes and onion in layers and pile in the garlic and onion. Add bay leaf and thyme, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile blend breadcrumbs, two tablespoons of oil, the remaining garlic clove and anchovy fillets in a food processor, then stir the parsley in.

Drain and pat dry the artichokes and fill with two-thirds of the breadcrumb mixture.

Remove the gratin dish from oven, invert artichokes into dish, grind on pepper and scatter remaining breadcrumb mixture over entire surface.

Drizzle with more oil, return to oven and bake for about an hour or until they test tender and the crumbs are golden.

It is recommended to eat this with bread and salad.

Back

© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group

http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk