The challenge: 1) Getting into the armadillo of vegetables. 2) Picking a good dry white wine, when you don't drink white wine, dry or sweet. 3) Hoping you are smart enough to figure out the anatomy of the artichoke without a drawn guide.
For the challenges and a little bit of work, this recipe was still fairly easy and didn't take a great deal of time. Don't let me kid you, the artichokes do take work to prepare, and now I see why so many people buy them already canned or jarred. I can't blame them. The artichokes were on sale for a nice, cheap price of 4/$5.00. I judiciously bought two and decided to halve the recipe.
The artichoke, once home-gets peeled, plucked and picked at until you wonder if there will be nothing left. I was hoping the entire time I was dismantling this choke that I was doing it right. (Here is where the city girl in me comes in, I've never dismantled or otherwise played with an artichoke in my life that didn't come in a can of some sort.) Alas, after a little pruning and a little more lemon juice, I got what I needed from the choke. I hope I got the entire furry choke off. Lucky for me, my taste tester isn't picky about that. In case you're wondering-while paring down choke #2(or 3 or 4 if you make the whole recipe), the prepped chokes sit in lemon water to keep them from oxidizing or turning brown. And you do have to pare the stem as well as the rest of the choke.
Next, the white wine. As I mentioned before, I don't drink white wine very much. I’m not sure which ones I like, and which I don’t, and the recipe usually calls for a dry white wine instead of saying you can use Chenin blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, or a dry champagne in this recipe. There is another rule of thumb, if you won’t drink it, don’t cook with it. I found a nice homemade Chenin blanc I used in a previous recipe and maybe a Riesling, I like well enough to cook with. I could not remember the Riesling I bought last time, so I tried one on sale-Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc. Its supposed to be dry as well. It wasn’t my favorite blend of wine and the flavors in the wine certainly came through in the artichokes.
And now, back to the recipe, sort of. Once the artichoke is ready and you decide the wine is tolerable, or has to be, add the oil, then the artichokes, garlic and capers to the sauté pan. Cook for about two minutes. Next, add in the white wine and juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of salt. Let the artichokes cook, covered, for 30 minutes until most of the liquid has reduced.
Once the liquid is mostly gone, add the chopped parsley, oregano, and crushed red pepper, and cook for five more minutes. Somehow, I forgot the crushed red pepper on the first run through of these. Check the artichoke for tenderness by inserting a knife directly into the heart. You heard me, stab the poor artichoke that made you do all that work for its tender, delicate flavor. If the knife does not meet any resistance, you may now devour your artichoke hearts, pan juices and all.
As I said, I forgot the crushed red pepper the first time through and the wine flavors I didn’t like did come through. It wasn’t entirely off-putting, but it wasn’t perfect either. It could have been the wine, it could have been the recipe. I may try it again, but not right away.
When I let James try it, I added the crushed red pepper before we reheated it. It did add a little flavor, but it didn’t do anything to save the recipe, in my opinion. James decided that the artichoke grows on you. I don’t think Briannag likes white wine either, though-she refused to lick the bowl. Of course, it could have been the green stuff-she’s not a big fan of that or crushed red pepper.
I may make this recipe again, for with the right wine, it may come out really well, but I’ll have to be in the mood to dismantle an artichoke.
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