In Italy one of the most exciting seasons is “Artichoke season”….We love, love, love our artichokes, prepared in every which way. To start today, I am cooking with 3 different types of artichokes , preparing them in 3 different ways…..The first, a spiny leafed artichoke with a long stem attached is from the Italian Island of Sardinia. 
Next, the Roman Artichoke, this artichoke is similar to what we find in our American grocery stores. In my following recipe I will only be using the bottoms of these Roman artichokes. In Italy, we can easily find artichoke bottoms at our vegetable vendor. There is a technique for cutting away the artichoke while keeping it’s bottom intact, you are welcome to try it…..I will give a lesson on this in a upcoming blog.
And finally, the third type are the small flower top blooms which we call Bottoli, in America we call them “baby artichokes”.
The following recipes are fast, easy, and healthy, don’t forget Artichoke have tons of health benefits sooooooo eat up!!!
Buon Appetito
Basic Baby Artichokes
This recipe is one of my “BASIC” recipes, meaning the recipe is used as a base for other dishes ie….Risotto con Carcofi or Pasta with Artichokes.
Ingredients
-15 baby artichokes (bottoli)
-3 garlic cloves peeled and smashed with a knife
-2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
-3/4 cups of water
-small knob of butter (optional)
-fresh parsley, chopped fine
-sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions
-First, pull off all the outer leaves of the artichokes, cut the tops straight across where the last spiny tipped leaf ends. Then with a paring knife peel the outer layer of the stem and cut the very bottom of the stem. When finished they should look like the photo below.
-In a heavy bottom pot, like a Le Creuset enameled,add the olive oil and the smashed garlic cloves, on med/low heat lightly brown the garlic.
-Add the artichokes, water, a palm of parsley, sea salt, pepper and if you like a small knob of butter. Cook covered on low heat until artichokes become tender. They should cook in 15-20 minutes depending on their size and the amount of outer leaves they have.
Artichoke Bottoms with Fried Parsley and Garlic Chips
A great side dish or vegetarian entree.
Ingredients
-6 artichoke bottoms
-3 large garlic cloves
-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped fine
-sea salt and pepper
Directions
-In a pot large enough to fit your artichoke bottoms cover with water, add sea salt and bring to a boil. Boil until a fork is easily inserted through the thickest part of the bottom. Drain and plate.
-Peel the 3 garlic cloves and slice thinly as possible
-Chop the parsley
-While boiling the bottoms, in a small heavy skillet add the olive oil and the garlic chips making sure that they are not overlapping. On low heat bring the oil to a boil and watch carefully as not to burn the garlic (note-once the garlic browns you can turn the heat off noting that it will continue to brown until the oil cools). Add the parsley into the boiling oil when garlic is golden brown and cook another minute.
– On the plated artichoke bottoms, divide the garlic chips and parsley and the seasoned olive oil.
Buon Appetito !!
Simple Grilled Artichokes
Easy, easy, easy and so good!!
Ingredients
-4 large artichokes with stems
-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
-sea salt large ground
-3 large garlic cloves pressed
Directions
-with a paring knife, peel the outer layer of the stem, and cut of the bottom end.
-cut the artichokes in half, remove the fuzzy, spiny pulp in the center of the choke, careful not to remove the heart. Remove the outermost leaves, then, cut the top of the artichoke in a place where the pointy tops are all cut off (note-this will make sense when you see the artichoke without the outermost leaves)
-Place all the artichokes in a large enough pot to boil without having to cut off the stems or bend them add sea salt and bring to boil. Boil for 8-10 minutes until the artichokes soften. Drain and place on a paper towel while you heat the grill.
-while the artichokes are boiling, clean the garlic and using a garlic press, press the garlic into the olive oil and set aside.
-on a hot grill direct medium heat,place the artichokes with a brush, paint the garlic oil mixture on the artichokes and add the sea salt being generous. Turn and do the same with the other side. Cook until the artichokes are golden brown.
Plate and enjoy
Buon Appetito!!
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