Artichoke Heart Recipes – With Peas and Asparagus
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Artichoke Heart Recipes
When spring springs it becomes an exiting time on the produce aisle. We can put aside the root vegetables that have been sustaining us through all of our hearty winter meals and get exited about fresh peas and asparagus. Then there are the artichokes (technically available year round, but the heavy season is spring). When was the last time you bought a fresh artichoke? I think artichoke is latin for “what exactly do I do with that?”
Unlike the imposter Jerusalem Artichokes, the big, green, bulbous flower bulbs are the real thing. As with all unusual vegetables, artichokes also got their delicious start because someone got it into his head that they were aphrodisiacs and, to kick it up even more, artichokes had the added benefits of helping ensure the birth of boys. This is the foundation of any great medieval marketing campaign.
The other thing about artichokes is that you can freak people out and still be on the right side of veganism. “Let’s cut its tender heart out and eat it raw” is fine to say in regards to artichokes and there won’t be any negative vegetarianism thrown your way except for a “Thistle be the last time I want to hear you say such things.” Get it? Thistle. Artichoke is a thistle…nevermind.
It is a shame that many don’t eat artichokes, not because of their legendary ability to help sway the gender of a baby, but because they are delicious. They are really not that much work either. Roasting them is lovely, but peeling artichokes and cutting their tender hearts out is worth the effort.
Yes, the best part of the artichoke is the tender heart which is easily extracted with a paring knife
The other beauty of the artichoke heart is that, when kept whole, it makes for a lovely edible cup that can be filled with all variety of tasty morsels. Since it is spring, filling it with delicious spring vegetables, like buttery peas and asparagus, makes for a very nice side dish.
Check out this fine video for all the recipe details including how to peel an artichoke.
Here is how I stuff artichoke hearts with buttery peas and asparagus.
- 4 globe artichokes (the bigger the artichokes the bigger the artichoke cups)
- 1 lemon
- 3 cups of fresh or frozen peas
- 1/4 lb of fresh baby asparagus
- 3 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper
- Cut the lemon in half.
- Fill a medium bowl with water. Squeeze 1/2 the lemon into the water. This water bath will be used to store the artichoke hearts and help prevent them for browning. Use the other half of the lemon to rub the artichoke directly while cutting it to avoid oxidation.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the top 1/3rd of the artichoke off.
- Remove the hard, outer, bottom leaves of the artichoke. The heart will begin to reveal itself.
- Using a pairing knife, carefully cut off the hard bits remaining from the leaves that were just removed cutting from the top down toward the stem. The stem can be peeled, too. Rub the artichoke with lemon where it has just been cut.
- Using the pairing knife, cut the leaves of the artichoke that are above those that were just removed by cutting around the circumference of the artichoke. Cut just deep enough to remove the leaves. More of the heart will reveal itself and the line between the heart and the upper leaves will be seen. Slice the upper leaves off at that line. Rub the artichoke with the lemon.
- After slicing off the upper leaves, the choke will be revealed. It is the hairy purple part in the center. Gently scoop the choke out with a spoon to create the artichoke cup. Rub the inside of the heart with the lemon. Trim the stem off so the bowl can sit on its own. Trim the bowl of any remaining hard parts. Put the heart in the bowl of lemon water. Reserve the stem for other cooking use.
- Repeat the above steps until all the artichoke hearts are removed and turned into bowls remembering to rub them with lemon as you go and storing them in the lemon water until ready to cook.
- Fill a medium pot with water and bring the water to boil.
- While the water is coming to boil, create an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water.
- When the water boils add the asparagus. Blanch the baby asparagus for about a minute (this will depend on the size of the asparagus) or until the asparagus is bright green and tender but not mushy.
- Remove the asparagus immediately and plunge it into the water bath to stop cooking.
- When the asparagus are cool, drain them well.
- If frozen peas are used, make sure they are defrosted (no blanching needed).
- If fresh peas are being used, refresh the water in the pan and bring it to a boil. Refresh the ice bath. When the water boils, add the peas. Blanch the peas for about 2 minutes (this will depend on the size of the peas) until they are bright green and just tender.
- Plunge the peas immediately into the ice bath to stop cooking. When they are cool, drain the peas.
- Fill a medium pot with water and salt the water to taste.
- Bring the water to a simmer. Add the artichoke bowls and simmer until they are tender about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove the artichoke bowls to a serving dish. Tent the artichoke bowls with a piece of aluminium foil to keep them warm.
- In a large saute pan, heat 3 tbsp of butter. When the butter is melted, add the peas and asparagus and toss them well until they are heated through. They have already been cooked and need only to be heated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon the peas and asparagus into the artichoke bowls.
- Serve hot.
- If baby asparagus is not available use the tips of regular asparagus.
- Artichoke hearts are delicious, but are a lot of work. To cheat, purchase artichokes hearts at the grocery store. They are found in cans or in the freezer section. They may be available in cup form. If you wish to omit the cup part, simply defrost (if frozen) and dice the artichoke hearts and toss in butter with the peas and asparagus.
- For a vegan option, omit the butter and use olive oil or a vegan, soy margarine.
I Hope You Enjoy!
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