Cooking Artichokes is Not Scary

The sharp spiny tips of the artichoke poked my mom in the hand as if to say, “Let’s battle.” I too however, was ready to fight. I have been afraid of the artichoke for some time now. Unless jarred and marinated, artichokes had yet to find their way into my cooking repertoire.

I have eaten the deliciously crisped leaves of the Roman style artichoke; the Jewish ghetto is the best place to find these beauties and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I however naysay the necessity of frying; I wanted a more healthful preparation of this beauty. So I rolled my sleeves up and prepared to disembody the beast.

Thanks to Deb’s in depth post, I didn’t fear the cleaning process. I peeled off the outside layers, gave the other leaves a haircut and trimmed the stem.

Opening up the artichoke is a technicolor experience. The vivid greens fade to cream and then BAM! A fuschia crescendo awaits. Instead of boiling the veg, I stuffed it silly with minced garlic, salt and pepper and fresh sage.

She roasted away at a 425 degree oven for an hour and the results were delectable. Tender, meaty leaves that you could snap off and rake with your teeth. Then a succulent heart, tucked beneath the leaves became the star of my dinner. I diced it up, added it to a “pasta” made of sauteed parsnip, zucchini and carrot noodles and devoured every.last.bite. Who knew facing your kitchen demons would be so tasty?

Roasted Garlic and Sage Artichoke with Pesto Vegetable Noodles

Serves 2

Roasted Artichokes

1 Medium Artichoke Trimmed

4 Cloves of Garlic

½ Red Onion

Noodles

2 Carrots

2 Parsnips

2 Smallish Zucchini

Lemon

Sage

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Earth Balance

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Balsamic Vinegar

1. After setting the oven to 425, use Deb’s tutorial Here to trim your artichoke

2. Mince 4-5 cloves of garlic and a handful of sage

3. Peel back your artichoke layers slightly and stuff them intermittently with spices and garlic. Also give it some salt and pepper loving

4. Dice up your onion

5. Lay down a healthy piece of tinfoil and place artichoke and onions in the center and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Unceremoniously wrap the hole package up and place in oven on center rack for 1 hour

Veggie Noodles- I had some Pesto in the fridge that I had made several days ago but you can substitute store bought or make a batch of your own! I timed this so I had ten minutes left on the artichoke when I started prepping my veggies

1. Rinse the veggies and grab a peeler. Y shaped is best here but both work! Peel Your veggies into thin slivers from one end to the other. (I used the Longest veggies I could find)

2. Glaze the pan with a capful of olive oil. Once heated (about 2 min on med high) Add salt pepper, and spices for about 30 seconds. Add a .5 tbsp of Earth Balance, margarine or butter and add your noodles.

3. You will have more noodles than pan space but just turn them frequently with tongs. They cook Down substantially.

4. Once they are looking al dente noodle-y, 4-5 minutes, Remove them from the pan.

5. De leaf your artichoke to get to the heart, It will pop out of the center with a little pressure on the stem. Dice him up and add him to the pan along with your pesto (1-2 tbsp) and A half cup of water.

6. After giving the sauce a stir, add your noodles back to the pan and coat them with the sauce.

7. To Serve add a drop of lemon juice, sea salt, and Cracked black Pepper!