Monday, March 5, 2012

Rosie Prepares Artichokes.

Daughter Hawthorne and I are having stuffed artichokes for lunch.
I opened up my artichoke, scraped out the choke, poured a little melted butter over the heart, and topped the whole with toasted homemade croutons and a mixture of chopped tomatoes, lemon juice and zest, and parsley.
How does one prepare an artichoke?
First one pulls off the lower leaves.
Then one slices off the top.
And one trims the pointy little leaves.
I like to add a little white wine in my water.
Plop a couple of lemons in the boil.
Set the artichokes in, cover, and simmer about 50 minutes, or until the outside leaves pull off easily.
I'm making croutons for the artichokes. First I baked a Schwann's baguette. From the garden, I picked parsley, thyme, oregano, and sage.
Mince the herbs and ...
... add them along with the pulled bread scraps to a hot pan with about 1/2 stick melted butter and a few swirls of ELBOO. That's Extra Light Bertolli Olive Oil!
Toss and swirl to slightly brown.
Place on a baking sheet and put in a low oven - 250 degrees. Bake until crispy, crunchy, and golden. (That's the before shot.)
Two peeled Roma tomatoes Juice and zest of one lemon Variegated lemon thyme
Mix all together.
My Little Artichoke.
The artichoke will open up easily.
Separate leaves until you get to this little domed cap in the center.
Pop off the cap and ...
... you expose the choke.
A very fuzzy choke which will choke you.
Remove the choke, exposing the lovely heart.
My splayed open artichoke, with heart exposed. Melted butter. Tomato, lemon juice/zest, and parsley. The toasted croutons.
Now that's an artichoke.

No comments: