Category: Summer Dish

Artichoke Hearts

Detailed instructions

Marta Giralt Pujol has given us some of her recipes for artichoke hearts – the tender bits at the centre of globe artichokes.

Harvest the artichokes before they grow too big and before the top leaves start opening. Harvest the artichokes with about 15 cm of stem. Stems are edible and quite tasty; you simply need to peel the outer skin.

Peeling the Artichokes

  • Sharp short knife
  • Water
  • Ice cubes
  • A bunch of parsley or a lemon or water with a bit of flour.
  • Optionally, gloves as artichokes may stain if peeling loads of them

Fill a bowl with ice cubes, then add the bunch of parsley torn in two or squeeze the lemon in the water or do both. The lemon may leave more flavour than the parsley so use whichever you prefer. If you cook the artichokes quickly this step its not necessary.

Cut the stem, leaving about 8 cm with the artichoke. Remove any leaves left in the stem. Holding the artichoke with the tip away, use a sharp short knife to cut downwards from under the second level of leaves (counting from the base). Start cutting downwards from under the leaves then turn the knife 90 ° and keep turning the artichoke to cut the rest in the same movement. The exterior thick leaves can also be peeled from the bottom of the globe up. Either way it´s easier than peeling the leaves one by one. Cut the top of the interior leaves with a single horizontal cut. Peel the outer layers of the stem. If you want to remove any hairs (the ‘choke’) cut them out with a spoon or a melon baller. Keep the artichoke hearts in the bowl with water and parsley until they are ready to cook. Or use them quickly.

The pictures show clearly how to do it.

Cut the outer leaves from the bottom of the globe. If you find it hard peel the stem first, but I like to do it last because the stem turns black very quickly.

Keep peeling the darker outer leaves around the globe.

Here, the outer harder leaves have been removed.

Cut the tips off the remaining leaves.

Peel the outer layers of the stem (this stem is brown because this artichoke had been in water for too long while I was finding time for the pictures)

That’s it!

Marta Giralt Pujol

Fried Artichoke Hearts

Fry the artichokes you have just peeled…

  • Peeled artichokes
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Optional: Serrano ham cubes (if you find them in the UK) or serrano ham strips

Pat the artichokes dry with a kitchen towel and slice them in half or quarters.

Optionally, pre-cook the artichokes using a microwave or boiling for 5 min. This step is not essential, but the artichokes will be more tender inside by the end of the recipe. To cook in a microwave, place the artichokes in a plate slightly oiled, cover with a bowl or the microwave plate cover. Cook in the microwave for about 5 minutes, depending on the size.

Add olive oil to a small pan. Add enough to cover all the surface of the pan with a good thickness of olive oil. Heat the olive oil and add the artichokes turning from time to time. Add the ham (if any) and cook for a bit more until the artichokes have changed colour or browned to your taste. Lift them out and remove any excess oil with a paper towel.

Salt to taste and enjoy!

Marta Giralt Pujol

Marinated artichoke with pomegranate

Cold slices of artichoke

Mix olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste in a bowl. Slice the raw artichoke hearts thinly and add them to the olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well and ensure the mix covers the artichokes.

Place the artichoke heart slices flat in a plate and add the pomegranate peas, grated Parmesan and grated lemon peel.

Marta Giralt Pujol

Globe Artichoke Soup

Use the left over bits from peeling the artichokes

  • Artichoke peelings and stems
  • Water
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Optionally, serrano ham in small strips or bread croutons.

Boil the leftovers from peeling the artichokes long enough so that they are tender. Blend with a blender and remove any fibres with a strainer. Add salt to taste. (Fry the serrano ham in a bit of olive oil so that it becomes crispy.)

Serve the soup in a bowl with a swirl of olive oil and the Serrano ham or croutons on top.

Marta Giralt Pujol

Cucumber Soup

A good use for a giant cucumber

A good way to use up that cucumber that hid away behind the leaves and grew into a giant. Sally adapted the original recipe from our ancient “Menus & Recipes for Vegetarian Cooking” from Sunset Magazine.

  • 3 tbs butter
  • A cucumber, peeled, seeded (if necessary) and sliced.
  • 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 or 3 cm chunks
  • 2 cups lettuce leaves, coarsely sliced
  • 4 spring onions, including tops, thinly sliced
  • 3 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp dill weed
  • 1.5 cups milk
  • 1 cup natural yogurt
  • Salt + pepper
  • Fresh dill sprigs or parsley

Melt the butter in a large pan and sauté the cucumber and potatoes for 4 or 5 minutes, then add the lettuce, spring onions, dill and stock and simmer until the potatoes are done. Purée the soup, and stir in the milk and yogurt. Heat it to the serving temperature, season, and garnish with dill or parsley.

Joe Foster

Rahkomenakakku

A versatile Finnish cake with apples or other fruit.

This versatile recipe for an Finnish apple cake was published in 1978 by the Leeds branch of the National Childbirth Trust in a little booklet called Growing Up With Good Food. The booklet was a collection of recipes from Leeds mothers, edited by Catherine Lewis. We still occasionally use our old copy, now dog-eared and food-stained.

Rahkomenakakku has been a long time favourite in our family.

Joe Foster

Fennel Baked with Parmesan Cheese

If you manage to grow good fennel…

I’ve only recently discovered how to grow fennel without it bolting while it is still small. The answer (for me) is to keep the carrot fly away from the plants by covering them with fine mesh netting.

I’ve tried several recipes for fennel, and my current favorite comes from our ancient copy of Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. It is very simple, and simply delicious.

  • Some heads of fennel
  • Butter
  • Black pepper
  • Parmesan cheese

Quarter the heads of fennel and boil them in salted water until they are just tender – neither crisp nor mushy. Drain them and lay in a generously buttered oven dish. Grate Parmesan over them along with plenty of black pepper. Bake them at 200deg C until they are bubbling in buttery juice and the Parmesan is golden.

Joe Foster

Cauliflower

Two simple “Greek” recipes

Occasionally I manage to grow some good cauliflowers, and when I do I appreciate these two simple recipes. I call both of them “cauliflower a la Grecque” – my versions of French versions of real Greek cooking. They do actually taste very good even though they may not be strictly authentic.

Part of the trick of cooking cauliflower is to catch them just as they soften, but before they go mushy. Your nose can help here. You get to recognize the the change of smell when they are done.

Cauliflower Salad

  • A cauliflower, broken into florets
  • Olive oil: two measures
  • Lemon juice: one measure

Prepare a dressing in a bowl by whisking together the olive oil and lemon juice – just enough for the amount of cauli you have. Steam the cauliflower in a covered pan with just a bit of water until it softens, and drain it. Add the florets to the bowl and gently mix with the dressing. Serve either warm or cold.

Cauliflower in Tomato Sauce

  • A cauliflower, broken into florets
  • Tomato sauce

I like to make enough tomato sauce to have some left over for dishes like this. Tomato sauce made with onions, garlic and oregano works well, but other sorts are good too. Just add the florets to a pan with enough sauce to cover them when you mix them together. You may need to water the sauce down a bit to stop it sticking and burning. Cover the pan and steam until the cauliflower is just done. Serve hot.

Joe Foster

Courgette Kuku

Delicious way to use up courgettes!

Jenny Ward brought this amazing Persian dish to one of our autumn shows, where it was quickly polished off. Not only is it delicious, but it also uses up lots of courgettes – just the sort of recipe we need!

  • 500g of courgettes – in 5mm slices
  • 6 eggs
  • 100ml milk
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • Handful of dill and parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, grated
  • Spice mixture:
    • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
    • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric
    • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 4 tbsp olive oil

Fry the onions in 2tbsp olive oil until soft. Remove from the pan. Then fry the courgettes in batches until coloured and remove from the pan. Add more oil if needed. Whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Pour the mixture into the pan, and cook on a low light. Finish off under the grill to brown the top.

Jenny Ward

Broad Bean Salad

Delicious and very simple.

We discovered this way of doing broad beans so long ago that we can’t find the original recipe. I think it is a Greek. Anyway it is delicious and very simple if your broad beans are still young and tender.

  • Broad beans
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil

If your broad beans are still young enough, just steam them in a bit of water until tender – only a couple of minutes – and drain them. Make a bit of dressing of olive oil and lemon juice in a serving bowl and tip in the broad beans and stir them in. If the skin of your broad beans has started to get tough you may want to go to the trouble of skinning them.

Serve them cool or still warm, as you prefer.

Joe Foster