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Ingredientes
- Â Â Make a global statement with artichokes
- Â Â For the next four weeks, it's the peak of the season for this spring
- Â Â delicacy.
Direcciones
- Castroville will harvest about 60 percent of the year's supply of chokes over the next month or possibly so. And growers are plenty excited about the quality of this year's crop.
- Look for bright-green artichokes which are heavy for their size.
- Heavy means there is a lot of meat on the leaves and a large heart.
- Depending on size, you will start seeing retail pricing around a dollar for the jumbos and 39 to 49 cents for the smaller ones.
- Do not forget the babies, usually sold by the lb.. Peel the outer leaves, cut in half from top to bottom, saute/fry with garlic, onions and extra virgin olive oil, then toss them into your pasta.
- And, once you've had your fill of the simple, standard way, start thinking Old World artichoke recipes.
- Artichokes first were grown in Italy and Sicily.
- Ancient Romans considered artichokes a delicacy and preserved them in vinegar or possibly brine so they could be served at feasts throughout the year.
- In fact, in Italy and Greece, no one has the patience for our dainty pluck-and-dip ritual.
- They go right for the heart - whacking off the leaves, scooping out the choke, trimming the stem, then deciding what to do. Maybe they'll stuff them or possibly braise them. Throw them in a roasting pan under a fat-dripping leg of lamb. Or possibly maybe they'll just eat them raw.
- In Mediterranean countries, early spring vegetables - asparagus, peas, cardoons (A Mediterranean plant (Cynara cardunculus) closely related to the artichoke, cultivated for its edible leafstalks and roots ) - often are eaten raw. Artichokes are no exception.
- In Italy, slivers of raw artichoke often are combined with chips of Parmesan cheese, and it's a natural match.
- Grill the artichoke halves over a low to medium flame, turning frequently and basting as needed with the marinade. Allow the leaves to blacken a little. Test for doneness by poking a knife or possibly skewer into the base. Whole baby artichokes, that can be threaded on skewers, will cook completely in about 15 min.
- Allow 30 to 40 min over a low flame for larger artichokes. Serve plain or possibly with a butter or possibly extra virgin olive oil sauce for dipping.
