Artichoke Attraction

Artichokes were not introduced into my life until I was well into adulthood. When my friend found out that I had not eaten it before, she immediately invited me over to her place and prepared an artichoke for me. She basically boiled it and served it alongside mayonnaise. She claimed that “Eating artichoke was an excuse to eat mayonnaise!” “Mmmm”, I replied, happily dipping another leaf into the creamy emulsion. The taste was unusual but it grew on me as I continued to dip and scrape the flesh off the leaf with my teeth. What I really loved about the whole experience was eating it with my hands and licking my fingers. It is the equivalent of eating a whole crab, but for vegetarians.

So on this note, my one piece of advice for what not to eat on a first date is a whole crab, as the business of breaking the legs and digging into the shell for every last bit of flesh is very primal. And really, when you use the word primal to describe anything, it’s just another way to say “unattractive”. I get into a zone where nothing else exists but me and the crab and to hell with black bean sauce dribbling down my chin.

But back to what is attractive, it’s the artichoke. Not only is it a beautiful vegetable, it definitely qualifies as a superfood as it is loaded with antioxidants such as quercetin (a natural anti-histamine), as well as the antioxidants cynarin and silymarin, these may be helpful in regenerating liver cells. Cynarin also stimulates the production of bile, which aids in the digestion of fats.

I came across a stuffed artichoke recipe many years ago, which I made with great success; it is slightly more elegant than just serving it alongside a sauce. The recipe below is a version of what I made. Please refer to the photos of the cross section of artichoke before and after I scooped out the inner pointy leaves and the fuzzy choke.

I’d like to point out that the serving “dishes” that we used are actually trivets that Kale made from wine corks collected on her travels – ingenious!

Other superfoods in this recipe:

Garlic – The major player in the allium family ( includes: leeks, onions, shallots, chives, green onion) contains sulphuric compounds that may help with lowering blood pressure and destroying cancer cells. Allicin, one of these compounds in garlic is not only anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal, but research has shown that allicin can help your body to neutralize dangerous free radicals.

Tomato – Technically a fruit. High in vitamin C and potassium as well as lycopene, fights free-radicals, supports prostate health, and protects skin from sun damage. It also contains zea-xanthin, which is good for eye health.

Stuffed Artichokes makes 4 appetizer servings or 2 main course servings

Ingredients:

2 large artichokes
4 slices sundried sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
½ c. grated parmesan cheese
¼ breadcrumbs or panko crumbs (use gluten-free if needed)
2 cloves roasted garlic
¼ c. olive oil (or more as needed)
¼ c. lemon juice
2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Cut the tops off the artichokes, about an inch from the top.
Then trim the sharp tip of each leaf.
Fill a pot big enough to fit the two artichokes, with water.
Bring water to a boil and then put the artichokes in right side up. Add ¼ c. of lemon juice and 2 tsp. of salt. Bring water back to a boil for about 20-25 minutes or until a skewer pokes easily through the stem.
While artichokes are cooking, put sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, olive oil and ¼ c. parmesan cheese into a blender and puree. If the mixture is too dry add more olive oil.
Mix the rest of the parmesan cheese with the breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 375˚F
Once the artichokes are cooked, cut them in half lengthwise, then scrape out the fuzzy choke out of the core. Cut the stem off, peel the outer layer, finely chop the inner flesh and add to the pureed sun-dried tomato mixture.
Fill the center with the sundried tomato mixture and then sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the whole surface of the artichoke.
Bake for about 10 minutes and then turn to broil and broil for 2-3 minutes or until crumbs turn golden brown. Keep an eye on it, it turns colour quite quickly.
Now devour!