FRESH Artichoke ideas???

[Jeanne G]

I have no idea how to cook a fresh artichoke!! I've used canned ones in everything from casseroles, pasta dishes, appetizers, pizza, etc. But I'm stumped on how to prepare fresh ones. Someone at work said his wife makes them with a wonderful dipping sauce and that you pull each leaf off (after they're cooked) and dip it and then 'scrape' the artichoke off on your teeth. It sounds different and fun and I'd love to try it. Any ideas???

[Ralph]

Jeanne,
Your co-worker is right - you can cook them, then serve with a dipping sauce whereby you pull off a leaf, dip the base in dip/sauce/etc., then turn upside down & draw the leaf thru your teeth, eating only the tender flesh. The remainder of the leaf is discarded. Once you reach the fuzzy "choke," you scoop it out & discard it, then eat the remaining heart w/a fork with or without dip/sauce/etc.
The trick is cooking the fresh artichoke! Here's what I do, excerpted from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. After washing, trim the stems & cut one inch off of the top of the leaves. Remove any loose outer leaves & snip off sharp leaf tips, brushing the cut edges w/lemon juice. Next, you simmer them in a large pot of boiling (optionally salted) water until a leaf pulls out easily, about 20-30 minutes. Cool them upside down. Now they're cooked & ready to use with dips or sauces, often as an appetizer.
You can also stuff them, making them more of a main course. There are numerous recipes of this sort; just search any good recipe site (like www.epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com) or www.kitchenlink.com) (http://www.kitchenlink.com)) for "stuffed artichokes." What I've done in the past is usually make a mixture of various ingredients in a bowl, spoon some into the artichoke (AFTER REMOVING THE FUZZY "CHOKE" BUT NOT THE LEAVES), and bake for 15-25 minutes at 350. Some of my concoctions have included combinations of white beans, breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, some olive oil, any mix of shredded cheeses (often Italian), & minced, cooked meat such as bacon, salami, prosciutto, or pancetta. I don't have any hard & fast recipes (that's the fun of cooking http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif); the few I've tried in the past have been rather disappointing.
I know it sounds rather complicated, but it's well worth it. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
Hope this helps.

[MrsReber]

Jeanne, my mother has been making artichokes for years so they were a common food in my house. I remember many times when one of us kids would bring a friend home for dinner and they'd stare at the artichoke, not knowing what it was or what to do with it! I currently have 2 artichokes sitting in my fridge that I will probably cook this weekend.

Here is how I like to cook them and it's pretty easy- I cut off the stem and make it so the artichoke can stand up. Remove some of the tougher outter leaves and cut off the tops. Then I steam them for about 10 mintues, until I can loosen them up a little bit to stuff them. For 2 artichokes, I mix about 1/4 - 1/2 seasoned breadcrumbs, about 1 Tbs olive oil, romano cheese and garlic (one clove or to taste since I love garlic). Let the artichokes cool for a few mintues then sort of squish them to loosen up the leaves and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top. Then I put them back in the steamer and cook them for another 30 minutes or until they're done. You'll know they're done if the outter leaves come off easily and are tender when you try one. My husband likes to dip the leaves in butter. Artichokes are fairly new to him, but now he loves them. Yes, you take off one leaf at a time and scrape off the bottom part. Be careful as you get to the center towards the choke. The leaves get much more tender and you can almost eat the whole leaf at that point. Even getting one of those prickly things (even though they look soft) stuck in your throat can make you absolutely miserable. I get a fork and scrape off that entire section before eating the heart- which you can consume entirely.

I did see in CL a recipe for artichokes stuffed with smashed potatoes. I want to try that one, it looked pretty good. It's in an older magazine. I'll have to see if I can find it.

Found it! I have never removed the choke before eating, so I'm not sure how to do that part, but here's the recipe:

Artichokes Stuffed with Smashed Potatoes and Browned Garlic

4 large artichokes
11/2 pounds baking potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray
Fresh parsley sprigs (optional)


Working with 1 artichoke at a time, cut off stem to the base. Remove bottom leaves and tough outer leaves, leaving tender heart and bottom; trim about 2 inches from the top of artichoke. Steam artichokes, covered, 20 minutes; cool to room temperature. Gently spread leaves; remove fuzzy thistle from bottom with a spoon. Preheat oven to 375`. Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer 12 minutes or until tender; drain. Beat at medium speed of a mixer or with a potato masher until coarsely mashed. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; saute 2 minutes or until golden. Remove from heat; add sherry, scraping skillet to loosen browned bits. Add sherry mixture, mozzarella, basil, salt, and pepper to potatoes. Stuff about 1 cup potato mixture into each artichoke. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Place stuffed artichokes in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375` for 20 minutes or until artichokes are tender. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Yield: 4 servings.

CALORIES 391 (26% from fat); FAT 11.3g (sat 3.5g, mono 6.1g, poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 13.8g; CARB 62.8g; FIBER 10.50g; CHOL 14mg; IRON 4.90mg; SODIUM 549mg; CALC 262mg



[This message has been edited by MrsReber (edited 08-25-2000).]

[Ohioan]

I like to simmer/steam the artichokes in about an inch of water into which I've drizzled some olive oil and a crushed clove or two of garlic. (Keep checking to make sure all the water doesn't boil away.) Then the cooking water forms its own dipping sauce. You can also squirt a little lemon juice into the simmering liquid. I often cook the artichokes this way even without a stuffing.

Phoebe

[Jeanne G]

Thank you so much for the replies!! After reading Ralph and Mrs Reber's I'm a little nervous because it sounds so complicated and I don't want to eat any "choke" - whatever that is! But I do love artichokes and you all say it's worthwhile, so I'll try it, maybe this weekend. I'll copy everything and print it out so I have the directions in the kitchen. And Phoebe, I think I'll start with out stuffing them! I need to 'test the water' before I take that step. Thanks to everyone again!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by Jeanne G (edited 08-25-2000).]

[Ralph]

Sorry, it's really not that complicated, just time consuming.
As for the "choke," it's hard to miss! It's the UGLY, spiny thing sticking up in the center of the artichoke as you look down thru the leaves. You just scoop it out w/a spoon, but be careful - some of the spines are pretty sharp.

Originally posted by Jeanne G:
Thank you so much for the replies!! After reading Ralph and Mrs Reber's I'm a little nervous because it sounds so complicated and I don't want to eat any "choke" - whatever that is! But I do love artichokes and you all say it's worthwhile, so I'll try it, maybe this weekend. I'll copy everything and print it out so I have the directions in the kitchen. And Phoebe, I think I'll start with out stuffing them! I need to 'test the water' before I take that step. Thanks to everyone again!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by Jeanne G (edited 08-25-2000).]

[Shirley Panek]

Jeanne G -

Here's a basic recipe for artichokes. Enjoy!

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Shirley


* Exported from MasterCook *

Basic Grilled Artichokes

Recipe By :Andrea Chesman
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 globe artichokes
olive oil
lemon wedges

Steam the artichokes for 25 minutes, until mostly cooked.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in the grill.

Slice the artichokes in half vertically and scrape out the feathery choke. Brush with oilive oil. Grill, turning occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.

Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Source:
"The Vegetarian Grill - 200 Recipes for Inspired Flame-Kissed Meals"
Copyright:
"1998, page 16"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per serving: 60 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 120mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

NOTES : "If I had only one vegetable on which to prove my claim that grilling enhances flavor, I would probably choose to prove it with an artichoke. The nutty flavor of this green vegetable becomes even more delectable under a glaze of smoke. Serve it, if you must, with drawn butter, but I prefer it plain."
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0

[Ohioan]

Jeanne G, to tell the truth, I sometimes don't bother scraping out the choke when I make unstuffed artichokes. I just keep working my way down to the center, and when I get to the heart, I take my knife and slice the choke off the top of the heart. (Hmm, why do I sound like a surgeon or someone out of a slasher film? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif ) When I make the stuffed version, though, I do scrape out the choke, so the stuffing won't get caught in it.

I often make extras of the unstuffed version, by the way, because they're great cold the next day, too.

Phoebe

[SueK]

I have a question for the artichoke lovers that responded to this thread....I posted my review of the spinach-artichoke dip which is in Sept's issue. I loved it, and I'm ashamed to say it was the first time I tried artichokes! Now, I'm assuming since they were canned, and mixed with other items, I didn't capture the "essence" of what they really taste like, since they were mixed in with other items. I'm wondering, however, if you think that taking a fresh one, and cutting and sauteing it in oil and garlic would be good to include in that dip recipe, rather than used canned. I thought that might add a bit of crunch to the dip, but I don't know how well they saute. Any opinions would be appreciated!

[This message has been edited by SueK (edited 08-26-2000).]

[MrsReber]

Sue, I think if you tried to saute fresh artichokes, you'd be asking for a lot of work! The ones in the cans are the hearts of the artichokes. If you were to buy whole ones (globe artichokes), you couldn't use the whole thing, just the hearts. It's more practical, in my opinion, to use the canned ones and saute those if you're looking for a little different flavor. I am dying to try that dip! My husband is a very recent convert. He just told me this evening that he misses artichokes- whole artichokes. I was very surprised to hear that. Good thing I happen to have a couple in the fridge for tomorrow! I highly recommend fresh artichokes- the globe (big) artichokes. They are kind of fun to eat.

[Ralph]

I agree w/Mrs. Reber: Using fresh artichoke hearts is asking for a lot of work. The canned version(s), though their age is usually unknown http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif, are just as good; you're not missing anything using them.

[Ohioan]

Actually, I haven't been too happy with canned artichoke hearts; even the "best" brands have seemed to me to have a kind of metallic or sour taste, and very little artichoke taste. If I can't get fresh artichokes -- or if I don't have the time, money, or patience to yank a pile of them to pieces http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif -- I prefer the frozen ones. The trouble is that it's hard to hack a portion off the frozen block (they don't seem to come in resealable bags) without thawing the whole block or sending bits of frozen artichoke heart flying all over the kitchen. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif

Phoebe

[Leanne]

I love fresh artichoke. My roommate & I used to eat them for dinner. We'd steam them in the microwave by putting them in a plastic sealed bag (like ziplock, or the bag the come in from the store & tying it off)& having added a little water to the bag. They steam nicely in about 5 minutes. Try it first & make sure it's tender - I usually stick a fork in the stem. I know microwaving times vary. We would eat them with balsamic vinegar as a dip, or lemon butter, or garlic butter. All are tasty.

[lorilei]

Originally posted by Ohioan:
... I prefer the frozen ones. The trouble is that it's hard to hack a portion off the frozen block (they don't seem to come in resealable bags) without thawing the whole block or sending bits of frozen artichoke heart flying all over the kitchen. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif
Phoebe

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif I always bang my unopened frozen artichokes on the edge of the counter to break them apart before opening the bag. That usually does the trick, and SOMETIMES they even stay separated for the next time around!

[Jeanne G]

Well, I wasn't going to reply to my own thread again, but after reading everyone's interest in artichokes, I thought I'd share a little frustration. Ok, I thought I'd start off by NOT stuffing them. I was thinking I'd start "small", as if! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif So, I looked at what everyone wrote and printed it off. I ended up cutting off the stem and trimming off the top of the leaves. I even rubbed them with lemon juice and used olive oil and garlic in the water. Then I put them in water like Ralph suggested and boiled them for about half an hour. OH MY!! Were they EVER overdone! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif They were quite limp and the leaves just came off with out any meat. I should have been more sensative to his 20-30 min directions. Next time I will try only 15. And I finally emailed my friend at work who said, and I quote, "DUH! You steam them!". I don't own a steamer. Needless to say, I am convinced I flubbed this one!! But I will try again. I have to say I chuckeled when I read Leanne's directions, now those are simple. Wish me luck and I will hopefully succeed soon! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif