Submitted by Robin Maymar
Part of my Edible Landscaping Scheme was to replace purely ornamentals with equivalent edibles.
So the Century plant was replaced by the Artichoke. Each year mine yields two dozen or so artichokes. If you catch them early, this recipe is great to use, as they are tender and easily ‘butchered’. Cutting them up seems to be a hassle, but once you get the hang of it you can quickly dispatch with ten.
Brown-Braised Baby Artichokes with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce
I used Bulgur and Red Quinoa from Central market. It cooks very quickly and is easy to ea.
Serve these over creamy polenta or a small serving of fresh fettucine for a lovely veggie supper. For a variation, cook a little bacon, ham or pancetta before cooking the artichokes; remove and crumble on at the end. Toasted almonds or hazelnuts would be good with these too. Baby artichokes vary in size- I have seen the same size box packed with 9 artichokes sometimes, 12 another. This recipe will work for 9 medium-small baby artichokes (2 to 2 1/2 oz. each). If your artichokes are very small, you can use 10 or 11 of them, as long as they fit in one layer across the bottom of the pan with the shallots. Be generous with the fresh herbs here.
Ingredients
1 ½ lemons
9 or 10 baby artichokes
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 small shallots, halved and peeled (or 2 medium or large, quartered)(Robin used onions)
Kosher salt
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth Or use vegetable broth.
1 to 2 tablespoons mixed fresh tender spring herbs such as chives, parsley, mint, tarragon and/or chervil. I used hands-full of herbs- parsley and chives or mint.
Directions:
• Cut the whole lemon in half. Squeeze and drop the two halves into a medium bowl filled half-way with water.
• Cut the stems off the artichokes at the base. Working with one artichoke at a time, peel away all of the outer leaves until you are left with a mostly lemon-limey colored artichoke. (it will be somewhat cone-shaped) with the top third still being a light green. With a sharp knife, cut about ¾ inch off of the top, and, with a paring knife, clean up the stem end just a bit (don’t remove too much, that’s the tasty heart) Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise. Rub water the cut sides of each piece with the other lemon half and drop the artichoke halves into the lemon water.
• In a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan that has a lid. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Arrange the artichoke halves (with whatever water still clings to them) and the shallot halves (both cut-side down) in one snug layer in the pan. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt.
• Cook without stirring, until the bottoms of the artichokes and the shallots are well browned. 7 to 8 minutes. (If the heat on your stovetop is uneven—or the burner isn’t level, like mine—rotate the pan so that the bottoms get evenly browned.)
• Pour in the chicken broth and cover the pan, leaving the lid slightly askew so that some steam escapes. Simmer gently, turning down the heat if necessary, until the broth is reduced to a few tablespoons, 12 to 14 minutes. Uncover, add the remaining ½ tablespoon butter, and squeeze the other lemon half over all.
• Sprinkle most of the herbs over and stir gently until the butter has melted. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir again, scraping up any browned bits if possible. Taste for salt and immediately transfer the artichokes and the pan sauce to a serving platter. Sprinkle on any remaining herbs.
Serves 2 as a veggie main dish with polenta or noodles, or 3 as a side dish.