How to Prepare and Cook Artichoke

Artichokes start flooding Istanbul food markets in March, and the peeled, ready-to-go-in-your-pot artichokes hearts are hard to ignore. However, my first spring in Istanbul I was watching artichokes from a respectful distance.

I ordered the vegetable a couple of times when eating out: nearly every single Istanbul restaurant does the same dish of artichoke heart filled with peas, diced carrots and potatoes, whole deal braised in olive oil. My artichoke verdict was “Boring!” I found this Mediterranean spring child tastes like a sunchoke which I always thought to be a vegetable with the inferiority complex: it aspired to be a potato, but a few chromosomes got lost on the way. Like an American comparing the taste of an unfamiliar animal protein to chicken, my Russian brain sticks to potato, my safe point of reference in the world of vegetables. End of the artichoke story.

But then another spring arrived, and I thought, “What kind of Turkish cooking instructor I am if I have never cooked an artichoke?” And I picked up a few peeled artichoke hearts packed in a bag of acidulated water from a nearby greengrocer. I liked carrying my purchase home as the artichokes were tumbling about in the bag like aquarium fishes. I put together the very Turkish classic every restaurant makes. For a variation, I made a version with ah-so-trendy firik. Nope, I did not like it this time either. To be honest, my artichoke did not cook through however long I kept it on the stove (afterthought: there was not enough cooking liquid). And uncooked artichoke, my friends, has even less chances to quality for a decent meal.

The turning point of this artichoke story was the cooking class I took in Fez, Morocco at the end of February. Artichokes already popped up at the markets, and Zeynep, our cooking instructor, picked up half a dozen of those for the lamb tagine. Later in the day she deftly peeled one to show us how. I tried to mimic what she did and ended up trimming off a good part of the bottom, but not removing most of the fuzzy center.

You might intimidate me at the kitchen, but only once. Next time we meet I am going to know better. That’s why after the artichoke incident in Morocco, I got on a mission to learn how to peel this spring guys. And once you peel one, you need to cook it, right? That’s why this spring I have been eating a few artichokes every week. And finally, I am in love with them. I feel sorry I thought of them as potatoes-that-did-not-happen. And I feel I need to make up for the years of my artichoke ignorance and spread the artichoke love for the years to come. So I am going to show you how to peel and cook artichoke.

Now, why to peel artichoke? Many simply trim off the stem and the pointy tips of the leaves and then core out the fuzz. In Turkey we do have a few ways to prepare whole artichokes, an excellent material for stuffing, say with rice and minced meat or onions and artichoke’s spring brother, fresh fava beans.

I am not your Istanbul artichoke seller that cold-heartedly discards all the super-nutritious leaves, but I like to be able to go straight to the point and eat my artichoke heart without a prelude. And the peeled artichoke opens up a whole world of cooking opportunities: you can fry it, or steam, or roast, or combine with the other gifts of spring.

What about the leaves then? Oh, artichoke leaves are gold. Their primary compound cynarin (that artichoke heart contains too) creates a characteristically sweet aftertaste in your month, and all the food you eat right after tastes a bit sweet. Cynarin helps liver function and lowers serum cholesterol. Also, artichoke leaves have digestive properties as they stimulate gallbladder to release more bile into the digestive tract, which aids fat digestion. So I never ever throw away the leaves: I might add a few meaty ones when making stock and dry the rest to make a fantastic satisfying tea (5-6 leaves per cup of boiling water, bring to a boil, turn off the heat and steep for 5-7 min).

So, let me share with you an easy way to prepare and cook artichoke.

How to Prepare Artichoke

1. Prepare a bowl of cold water enough to hold as many artichokes as you are going to peel. Stir the lemon juice into the bowl: think juice of 1 lemon for every 3 artichokes you are peeling. Keep the lemon halves.

2. Trim off the good part of the stem leaving 2-3 cm (about an inch) and rub the cut with a lemon half. Stem is the extension of the artichoke heart, meaning an edible part of the vegetable.

3. Remove the tougher outer leaves until you see the thinner leaves with the yellow bottoms.

4. With a sharp pairing knife trim off the green layer of the stem leaving the white core and remove any green parts from the bottom of the artichoke heart. Rub the cuts with the lemon half.

5. With a chef’s knife slice off the artichoke crown, about 3 cm / 1 inch above the point where the stem is attached to the heart: when slicing, you will feel that the knife is cutting through many layers of soft leaves rather than the hardness of the heart. Rub the cut with the lemon half.

6. With your pairing knife carve out the purple “flower” and its thin “petals” from the center of the artichoke heart. Then continue craving our the fuzz with the knife or a spoon until you reach the bottom.

7. Place the lemon halves and the prepared artichokes bottoms in the acidulated water for 10-15 min, and you will see the creamy color of the artichoke gradually coming back. Save the leaves to make stock; alternatively use fresh or dry for your detox tea.

How to Cook Artichoke

While there are hundreds of preparations I stick to the basics with artichoke and steam it. Steaming is a quick way to cook a vegetable while retaining most of its nutrients. If you are not wildly enthusiastic about steamed vegetables, it is because you have never eaten them properly done and thoughtfully dressed. Below I describe my approach to steaming and dressing artichokes with Moroccan chermoula sauce of fragrant herbs and spices.

Steamed Artichoke

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

3 large artichoke hearts (see directions above)
generous pinch of fine sea salt

Directions

Pour enough water in a cooking pot making sure that the water does not reach the steaming basket / colander you will use for steaming. Bring to a boil. Cut a peeled artichoke into the quarters, transfer to the steaming basket / colander, season with the fine sea salt and place over the rapidly boiling water. Cover with a well-fitting lid and cook for 5-7 min, until tender. To test for doneness, insert a tip of a pairing knife into an artichoke: if the knife slides through with ease and you are able to barely lift the vegetable off the basket, it’s cooked through. Toss in the chermoula sauce (recipe below) and serve immediately.

Chermoula

Adapted from Zeynep of Plan-it Fez

Often used as a rub for fish (lamb tagine!) or fish (heavenly sardines!), chermoula is a popular sauce in Morocco and other Northern African countries. There are many takes on chermoula, and I have shared one a while ago. Here I have adapted the recipe I got from our cooking instructor in Fez to suit my taste.

Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/4 tsp isot / Urfa pepper (or other hot red pepper flakes)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Directions

Toast the cumin and coriander on a dry skillet over the low heat for 2-3 min, or until fragrant. Transfer to the mortar and pestle and grind to a fine powder. Combine the chopped parsley and cilantro, minced garlic, ground spices and isot. Stir in the lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Taste for seasoning, and adjust if needed. Best used immediately, but can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.