Why do artichokes turn brown? Their flesh contains a substance which reacts when exposed to oxygen. Scientists call this enzymatic browning. Prevent it by keeping trimmed artichokes fully-submerged in water with a fair amount of lemon juice or vinegar. The best way is to weight them down with a plate or other object, so they stay in the water.
What's the difference between globe artichokes and baby artichokes? Actually, they are both picked from the same plant, at the same time. The artichoke plant sends up many flower stalks, reaching different heights and yielding different size artichokes. The main difference is that the bigger artichokes will be tougher and have a larger choke to remove, while the baby artichokes will be more tender and have a very small choke or no choke at all.
Here is an interesting, tasty salt cod salad from Southern Italy. Salted cod is paired with briny green olives and bitter Radicchio, and thin-sliced raw artichokes. A simple, warm vinaigrette of olive oil and red wine vinegar, infused with garlic and chile flakes, dresses the salad and adds a touch of heat and acid to [...]
Sautéed chicken livers with onions is an Italian classic, a dish straight from the pages of la cucina povera. Slow-cooked, deep brown caramelized onions pair incredibly well with rich, quickly sautéed chicken livers. It is not, however, the most visually appetizing dish – brown on brown – and that’s why it’s la cucina povera. There [...]
I’m working at an Italian restaurant now, and doing a sort of study of Italian regional cuisines on my own time. My goal is to learn the similarities and differences between each of the Italian regions, before I move on to my next job, in either a French or Mediterranean restaurant. The food of Tuscany, [...]
I subscribed to La Cucina Italiana Magazine recently, and my first issue has an article about 5 great Italian ingredients. One of the ingredients is artichokes, and the article includes a great recipe for a tagliatelle pasta with prawns and baby artichokes. The prawns look really tasty resting on the mound of pasta, with the [...]
Here is a bright, fresh pasta based on a spring combination: tender baby artichokes and freshly-shucked fava beans. It’s green, grassy, and slightly bitter, and anchovy cream adds salty and rich notes to the dish. A little drizzle of high-quality, fruity olive oil tossed in at the end really gives this pasta a lift.