Yes, There Are Even Local Artichokes

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

In our house, we try very hard to maintain a food budget, and, for the most part, we succeed.  Yet, there are occasions that call for indulgence – a Friday night out to dinner after a long, hard week, or that weeklong holiday between Christmas and New Year’s.  We can safely add the reopening of the Headhouse and Passyunk and South Farmers’ Markets to that list.  In this lull between the end of Winter Harvest and the beginning of our CSA, we have wallowed in Rineer Farms’ strawberries, Livengood’s spinach, and Weaver’s Way herbs.

Unquestionably, our favorite indulgence this season has been artichokes from Culton Organics.  Good artichokes are rare enough even at Whole Foods, but locally grown artichokes were, for me, an unheard-of rarity.  Culton Organics alternates between the smaller artichokes and the larger, globe artichokes pictured here.  Not wishing to appear snobbish, we purchase whatever is offered. 

For the larger artichokes pictured here, we trimmed off the uppermost and outermost leaves and the stalk, stood them upright in a pot of water and olive oil, and braised them for an hour.  To eat them, we plucked each leaf and scraped the meat off the base.  (Once I had finished with all of the leaves, I even went so far as to cut out the chokes, and then gnaw on what remained of the base and stem - it was every bit as good.)

For the smaller artichokes, I used a recipe from my erstwhile, original hero Mario Batali (sorry, Mario, but Marc Vetri has surpassed you) that makes a wonderful condimento of artichokes, garlic, parseley and, of all things, sweet vermouth. 

I used to think of artichokes as nearly being too labor intensive to justify cooking at home (about some things, I am very lazy), but less so anymore.  I suspect much of it had to with the very foreignness of the artichokes and how rarely I prepared them.  With a little indulgence, that is changing.