[Sca-cooks] Artichoke recipe (was re: Cardoons vs. artichokes)

[Christiane]

-Gisnotta mentioned:
> What's really confusing for me is that my Sicilian grandmother
> interchangeably used "artichoke" and "cardoon" to refer
to the
> globe-style vegetable we are familiar with. But with cardoons, you eat
> the stems, not the bracts.
Huh? What are part of the plant are the "bracts"?

Stefan
--------
My lord, in an artichoke the bracts are the fleshy leaf-like parts of the plant that we eat. In any flowering plant, the bracts are the leaves at the bases of the flowers. In artichoke or cardoon, the bracts are numerous.

Someone had asked why the cardoons they have eaten from their gardenb are stringy and bitter. First, you have to eat them young; don't try and eat them when the plant gets really big. Second, you have to remove the "strings" from the stems as part of the preparation; strip them out.

And here's a favorite Christmas Eve artichoke recipe from my family. It's simple and tasty and I gorge myself near to exploding on them. I don't think it's period, per se, but it's a good finger food.

Artichoke heart frittate

Ingredients:

Two cans of artichoke hearts, rinsed to make them less salty, and well-drained.
Two or three beaten eggs
Breadcrumbs (I like Cento or Progresso, but you could make your own if inclined -- just make sure there's a good bit of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese in there)
Olive oil for frying

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil to frying temperature. Take a drained artichoke heart, dip it in the beaten egg, then roll it in the breadcrumbs until well-coated, then place in the skillet. Put in the hot oil; repeat until you have a skillet full, and fry until browned. Drain the breaded, fried artichoke hearts on paper towels. Serve at room temperature as an appetizer with lemon wedges.

Gianotta