GLOBE ARTICHOKES AND JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES

Artichokes on cooktop 2

Gluten intolerance – myth or misunderstood?

Saturday, The Age, June 28, 2014

Andrew Masterson

For complete article, see link at the bottom of this post.

This is a very interesting article about gluten being the possible cause of intestinal problems (celiac disease) and the relationship of intestinal problems and FODMAP (The acronym stands for “fermentable oligo-saccharides, disaccharides, mono-saccharides and polyols).

If I eat artichokes, I get cramp and wind’.

But, what type of artichokes?

There are two types of artichokes, the leafy Globe artichokes and the tuber Jerusalem artichokes. Globe artichokes have NO relation of the tuber-like, Jerusalem artichoke.

In my experience problem “artichokes” are more than often he tuber variety, the Jerusalem artichoke.

In many other cultures when one mentions “artichoke”, Globe artichoke is the one that they think of. The Globe artichoke is considered to be the ‘true’ artichoke – one of a large member of the thistle family. Globe artichokes are beneficial – liver, kidneys.

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The tuber artichoke contains a surprising lack of starch, but is rich in the carbohydrate (76% inulin), which is a polymer of the monosaccharide fructose. Also if they are stored for a length of time they convert their inulin into its component fructose and this is the possible offending factor.  T

The Jerusalem artichoke grow as tubers  of tall, herbaceous perennial  plant that grows up to 3 m high with a yellow flower like a sunflower and this is why the tubers are also referred to as a sun-choke. In Italy the tubers are called Girasole- sunfllower because of  the plant’s resemblance to sunflowers.

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As a person who appreciates and offers stuffed Globe artichokes to many friends during the artichoke season, I want them to know that they are not likely going to suffer.

REFERENCES

Low FODMAP Food: www.StephanieClairmont.com

Gluten intolerance – myth or misunderstood?

Recipes for stuffed artichokes on All Things Sicilian and More:

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QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET (Carmel and Gus’s stall in B Shed, Stall 61- 63)

I buy freshly picked vegetables and fruit that are in season – it is more likely to equate to optimum flavour and nutrition.DSC_5457

Many cooks are not familiar with particular vegetables or do not know how to cook them. For example: artichokes, chicory, fennel, cavolo nero, cime di rape, prickly pears, broad beans, cardoons, endives, kale (to name a few) would be classed as unusual vegetables to some shoppers.

Gus and Carmel's stall @ Vic Market

But I can buy all of these ingredients from Carmel and Gus’s stall at the Queen Victoria Market (B Shed, Stall 61- 63).

On my blog you will find many photos of produce from their stall and recipes on how to cook them. This season the cavolo broccoli have been interesting to try .

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I have again much enjoyed the artichokes and the cime di rape (see photo below). Most of the time, I stuff my artichokes with breadcrumbs, parsley, grated pecorino (if cooking Sicilian), garlic and I moisten the stuffing with extra virgin olive oil.

Carciofi hero

I braise them in broth and white wine. Great stuff.

carciofi cooking

SICILIAN CONTORNI IN SPRING ( A Sicilian potato salad, artichoke salad, braised peppers)

Lidia is one of my cousins who lives in Augusta (south of Catania in Sicily) and is an excellent cook. Lidia has taught me many things about Sicilian cooking.

She is an innovative cook and like any good cook she improvises and uses basic Sicilian traditional methods and recipes and embellishes them with new ingredients. Balsamic vinegar is not a Sicilian ingredient but, like many ingredients from the North of Italy, it has found its way into modern Sicilian cooking. I cannot see the elderly members of my family using it, as their cooking remains very traditional. Please note that it is a good quality balsamic and not some of the inferior ones that are commonly sold in supermarkets in Australia (and probably elsewhere). Naturally the extra virgin olive oil is of excellent quality also.

We had lunch at Lidia’s country house recently and these were just the contorni (side dishes):

The small peppers were first sealed in hot extra virgin olive oil and then cooked on low heat with a little salt until soft.  A little balsamic vinegar was added at the end to deglaze the pan.

The waxy potatoes were peeled and cubed and cooked on low heat with whole young fresh onions in a little salted water. When soft, the water was drained and the vegetables were dressed with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and oregano.

The artichokes had most of the leaves removes and were boiled. These were dressed with extra virgin olive oil, green squashed olives (not pickled for too long and therefore still slightly bitter tasting), mint, parsley and fresh garlic leaves from her garden, capers (those packed in salt of course) and a dash of good quality wine vinegar.

And all of this with a perfect blue sky, sitting outdoors and of course on an embroided linen tablecloth. Thank you Lidia and to Valentina her daughter who contributed to preparations and made a wonderful tiramisu using ricotta instead of mascarpone – a Sicilian touch.

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CARCIOFI (Artichokes)

We are now well into autumn and the green artichokes have been in season for a few weeks now in Victoria (see photo above) and soon we will also have the purple tinged ones – all Victorian produce.

artichokes

Good news for carciofi lovers. They can be eaten in so many ways. Here are some of the ways that I have enjoyed eating artichokes:
• raw, as a salad, the centre of young, tender artichokes, sliced very thinly and dressed,
• thin slices of raw artichokes dipped in batter (or in egg and then breadcrumbs) and then fried,
• small ones preserved in oil,
• boiled and dressed in a salad,
• cooked and almost disintegrated in a pasta sauce,
• grilled over hot coals,
• as the principal ingredient of a caponata,
• in a frittata,
• an ingredient in a tart or pie,
• boiled and once cooked, leaf by leaf is dipped into a dressing (one’s teeth extracting the soft part found at the bottom of each leaf)
• stuffed in a variety of ways, then baked or braised.

There are many ways to eat artichokes, but when friends come they always ask me for stuffed artichokes. During artichoke season I seem to be stuffing artichokes very often . See recipe:

CARCIOFI IMBOTTITI (Stuffed artichokes)

Photo below: Photographer Graeme Gillies, food stylist Fiona Rigg. Both worked on my book, Sicilian Seafood Cooking.

My brother who lives in Adelaide uses egg and no cheese in his bread and herb stuffing so when I visit him I am pleased that they are a little bit different. Last time I ate artichokes at his house he added peas (which I often do) and we had the peas, stalks and juice as a pasta dressing and the stuffed artichoke as a second course.

I have written recipes about artichokes on this blog before. See:

CARCIOFI (Artichokes and how to clean them)

CANNULICCHI A LA FAVURITA – CANNOLICCHI ALLA FAVORITA (pasta with broad beans, peas and artichokes alla favorita)

 

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Cardoons will also be in season in winter.

CARDOONS (Cardoni or Cardi in Italian)

CARDOONS/CARDI continued

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PASTA CON CARCIOFI (Pasta with artichoke sauce)

Shoppers seem to be more familiar and discerning when selecting what used to be referred to as a ‘challenging vegetable’, and this could be contributing to the good quality of artichokes on sale.

As we are heading into spring (in Australia), artichokes are becoming more plentiful. Lately I have seen and purchased some very good artichokes at the Queen Victoria Market. I do like whole, stuffed, braised artichokes, however sliced artichokes can be sautéed and used to make a frittata, risotto or a pasta sauce.

 

The following is a standard pasta sauce made in most parts of Italy. Most regions use a few tomatoes (tinned at this time of year). I actually prefer the sauce without them and use extra wine for the extra moisture which may be required to soften the artichokes. Butter is added at the end to sweeten and bring together the flavours, but is generally not used in some regions of Italy (mainly in the south).

INGREDIENTS

fettuccine all’uovo, 500 g (egg pasta)
tomatoes, 300g peeled and sliced (canned are OK at this time of year)
butter, 3 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil, ½- ¾ cup
artichokes, 3-4, young and fresh
garlic, to taste
salt and coarsely-ground black pepper, to taste
white wine, 1 cup
fresh parsley, ½ cup
grated parmesan cheese, to taste

PROCESSES

Prepare artichokes: strip off outer leaves until you have leaves that are lighter in colour and less fibrous.
Cut the artichokes into quarters and then into slices. Trim the stalk of their fibrous outer cover and slice. Keep the artichokes in acidulated water (lemon juice) to prevent from discolouring.
Heat the olive oil in a large shallow pan, add the well drained artichokes and sauté for approximately 3-4 minutes.
Add white wine and evaporate for a few minutes.
Add tomatoes, garlic, seasoning and parsley; taste the artichokes and decide if they need more cooking, cover and simmer till cooked (if the artichokes are tender it may only be 5-10 minutes). Add extra wine or stock if necessary.
Dress the pasta with the sauce. Add butter at this stage.
Place parmesan cheese on the table (or use pecorino if you wish it to be a southern Italian) .
For other artichokes recipes and how to clean them, hit this link.

 

CARCIOFINI SOTT’ OLIO (Preserved artichokes in oil)

If you live in the Southern hemisphere (as I do in Melbourne, Australia,) you may have noticed small artichokes for sale. Carciofi  is the word for the normal sized artichokes and carciofini are the small ones. Carciofini are also the baby artichokes that never develop to full size and grow at the end of the plant’s growing season (photo of carciofi spinosi taken at Palermo Market)

These small artichokes (that never develop to full size) are considered too small to cook and are customarily preserved in oil and eaten in the non-artichoke season. I realize that this may be difficult for some of us to imagine because we appear to be able to purchase artichokes, asparagus and tomatoes all year round in Australia, but being Italian and having been brought up with respecting and celebrating local, seasonal produce, I go without. (I ask myself how far away some of this produce is coming from and how long ago was it picked.)

The carciofini are first poached and then preserved under oil. Usually I only preserve very small quantities (they get eaten very quickly), but for each kilo of artichokes,

INGREDIENTS
small  artichokes, 1 kilo
acidulated water – 2 lemons
For the poaching liquid
I use 4 cups of white wine vinegar, a cup of white wine and about one teaspoon of salt for the poaching liquid. They need to poach in sufficient liquid otherwise the bitter taste becomes concentrated and they could be unpleasant.
For the oil mixture:
Sufficient extra virgin oil to cover the artichokes and
1 tablespoon of whole black pepper corns, 5 bay leaves and about a tablespoon of dry oregano.
PROCESSES
Use artichokes that look closed and firm (when the leaves start to open, the choke has started to develop and this can happen even to small artichokes if they have been left on the plant too long).
Strip back the leaves (you just want the tender heart) and kept them whole. Soak them in the water and lemon to stop them from browning.
Drain the artichokes and leave them upside down while you make up the vinegar/wine mixture. Use a stainless steel saucepan with a lid (to cover the artichokes as they cook).
Place the artichokes in the boiling mixture, cover and poach them gently in the mixture until cooked but not soft – still firm in the centre, but the outer leaves should have softened. The time for cooking varies (my last batch took 12 minutes).
Drain them of as much vinegar as possible and when cool pack them carefully into sterilised glass jars, pressing them down gently and trying to prevent as many gaps as possible. (Rather than a large jar I use smaller sized jars so as to minimise possible spoilage once opened).
Add flavours and cover with oil. To allow any trapped air to escape leave them for about 3 hours before sealing. During the resting time the level of the oil may be reduced, top with more oil and ensure they are well covered (some use an inverted small saucer on top as a weight to help keep the artichokes submerged but make sure that you sterilise the saucer).
Seal the jars and allow them to steep in the oil for at least 10 days before you eat them. Because I make small quantities and live in an apartment with little storage space, I keep them in my fridge, but they can be stored in a cool, dark place for about 6 months.

 

I never add fresh herbs or garlic to any preserves, as these are likely to go off, release gas and spoil the whole preserve.

When ready to use, remove the quantity of artichokes from the jar, drain them of some of the oil, add garlic slices and finely chopped parsley and a dash of lemon juice.

After each jar is opened, it is best to use the artichokes quickly. Add extra oil to the remaining artichokes to keep the contents submerged.I always keep opened jars in the fridge.

CANNULICCHI A LA FAVURITA – CANNOLICCHI ALLA FAVORITA (pasta with broad beans, peas and artichokes alla favorita)


In Spring we get broad beans and fresh peas. Artichokes (one name for them is cannolicchi in Sicilian) are also available and the combination of these three vegetables is very common in Italian (includes Sicilian) Spring recipes.

The recipe and the name of this dish is taken from the menu of one of Sicily’s outstanding restaurants the Charleston, found in Mondello on the outskirts of Palermo. I do not know why the restaurant is called by this name, but speculate that its size and grandeur is reminiscent of the popular, dance halls of the twenties. It is a lively, glamorous restaurant on the water, with top food and reputed to be frequented by pezzi grossi (slang for people who mean business).

The Charleston is a popular restaurant and the menu represents the best of Sicilian traditional dishes, wines and quality produce. Each traditional dish is modern in its presentation and very different to Sicilian food one generally eats in Sicily.
Using tubular pasta will help to trap the sauce and cannolicchi are suggested in the recipe. These are cylindrical shaped, hollow pasta ranging from 50-60 mm in length with a smooth surface; other large tubular pasta can be used.

The vegetables are cooked very quickly. The softer centre and the fondi of the artichokes (the tender, fleshy parts at the base) are used in this dish, so you can purchase the larger, fleshy, artichokes which are very common in the Queen Victoria Market.

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The pasta dish is similar to a warm salad. I make the sauce while the pasta is cooking to better preserve the colours of the vegetables (the different shades of the colour green).

In my recipe I add herbs at the end of cooking – mint or fennel fronds (cut finely) or fresh basil (not yet in season). I also like to include a spoonful of fresh ricotta on each person’s plate.
The following recipe is for 6 people

INGREDIENTS
pasta, 400g cannolicchi or other tubular pasta
artichokes, the fondi (bases)-depending on the size of the artichokes I usually buy 5 large artichokes and use the stalk as well.
lemon, 1 for acidulated water.
broad beans, young, 1kg.
peas, young, 1kg.
onion, 1 large white, fresh (fresh onion are sweeter in taste ) sliced,
pecorino, 100g freshly grated
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil, 3/4 cup

PROCESSES
Shell the peas and broad beans. (Many remove the outer light green peel of the broad beans – I only buy young broad beans and only remove the skin of the larger beans)
Prepare the artichokes by first removing all of the leaves and only keeping the tender centre and its fleshy base. Remove the choke if there is one. The peeled stalks and the artichokes should be sliced finely. Keep in acidulated water until ready to use.
Boil the water, add salt and cook the pasta and make the sauce while the pasta is cooking.
Heat the oil and add the onion. Stir gently until golden and softened.
Add the vegetables and toss till they begin to change colour and have softened (about 7-10 mins). Add salt during cooking.
Add fresh, finely chopped herbs before the end of cooking..
Drain the pasta, add the sauce and toss gently.
Present it with grated pecorino and black pepper.

I hope to eat at the Charleston again (I arrive in Palermo within the next few days). Because it will be autumn, these will not be on the menu, but I am pretty certain that whatever I eat will be seasonal and fabulous.

CARCIOFI (Artichokes and how to clean them and prepare them for cooking)

Last time I was in Sicily in winter  I we saw masses of artichokes everywhere – in markets, growing in fields, sold by the roadside from the back of utes, in restaurants, and in the homes of relatives.

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When my family first came to Australia, we used to notice that some Italians collected wild artichokes to eat (in Australia they are known as thistles). There were no artichokes for sale for at least a decade so they collected the buds and stripped off all leaves. Only the bases were stuffed or preserved in oil.

Artichokes are now more readily available in Australia and the quality seems to be getting better. I am now more able to find artichokes that feel crisp and dense, with a tightly clenched shape and petals that will snap off crisply when bent back. I have generally found that the purplish coloured ones to be more fibrous and I prefer the green coloured ones that look like roses.

Artichokes have been around for a long time. The Romans called the artichoke cynara, the Arabs al kharsciuf, (this sounds more like the Italian carciofo).

Artichokes contain a chemical called cynarin and it is said that it stimulates the production of bile. This is why artichokes are often used as the basis of digestivi (drinks that aid the digestion – a vital issue among Italians. There are those that prepare the stomach before food (aperitivi) and those drunk after a meal (amari, literally translated as ‘bitters’).

 

Many will be familiar with Cynar, the Italian artichoke-based alcoholic aperitivo manufactured by Campari in Milan. The are many amari manufactured all over Italy, but Averna, the amaro siciliano is a specialty from Caltanissetta (which is close to the centre of Sicily) and is a real indulgence.

Preparing artichokes for cooking
Artichokes in Sicily are sold with long stalks often up to 1 metre in length – do not ever discard the stalks. The stalks are particularly wonderful in risotti (plural of risotto) and braises made with artichoke. Trim the stalk with a small sharp knife to pull away the tough, stringy outer skin (just like the strings of celery) and leave the stem attached to the artichoke. This will expose the light-coloured, centre portion, which is very flavourful and tender and much appreciated by Italians.

When trimming, to prevent discolouration, squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a big bowl of water and keep cleaned artichokes submerged in the mixture. This is referred to as acidulated water. Drain the artichokes by inverting them upside down for about 5 minutes when ready to stuff or cook. Alternatively rub the surfaces with a lemon.

Winter greens 1

Preparing artichokes for stuffing
Remove the stalk so that the artichoke will sit on its base in the saucepan. Clean the stalk and pull the tough outside leaves off the base one by one until you have reached the paler less fibrous centre. Then trim about 1cm across the top. Keep them in acidulated water as you work.

Turn the artichoke upside down and bang it on a hard surface and then gently ease the leaves apart to expose the heart. If you place the artichokes in warm water you will be able to ease apart the leaves more easily. I start by easing the outer leaves and working my way to the centre.

There may or may not have a fuzzy choke (it depends on the maturity of the plant). If there is, remove the choke with a teaspoon, inserting it into the centre and carefully turning it without snapping the sides of the choke.

Preparing carciofi Romana

Preparing the base of the artichoke
Those of you who have travelled to Italy would be familiar with the spectacle of men and women preparing artichokes at vegetable markets. They sit with their mound of artichokes, skilfully paring off all the leaves with very sharp kitchen knives.
(Photos of cleaned artichokes taken in the Campo dei Fiori market in December 2009, when I was last in Rome).
These are called fondi di carciofi – they are the bases of mature artichokes. The fondi can be stuffed, braised, sautéed, added to frittata – their intense flavour and meaty texture are a definite taste sensation.

At the end of the season, when the artichokes are large and past their prime, they are trimmed even further. In Australia, we have to do this ourselves. Pare off the leaves of a mature artichoke and just leave the base (no leaves) – it will look like a very shallow cup. The texture of the base will be covered with a pattern of small dots much like the eyes of flies (like a fine etching, delicate and quite beautiful).

There are many recipes for artichokes on my blog:

ARTICHOKES from the growers

THE AMAZING ARTICHOKE

GLOBE ARTICHOKES AND JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES

Stuffed artichokes: with meat and with olives and anchovies)

CARCIOFI FARCITI (Stuffed artichokes: with meat and with olives and anchovies)

A QUICK PASTA DISH for Spring: asparagus, artichokes, peas

CANNULICCHI A LA FAVURITA – CANNOLICCHI ALLA FAVORITA (pasta with braoadbeans, peas and artichokes alla favorita)

STUFFED ARTICHOKES WITH RICOTTA AND ALMOND MEAL

CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA