Globe Artichokes



The globe artichoke is related to the thistle. Its leaves are eaten, along with the bottom part of the flower. It makes a delicious starter or lunch ,simply boiled whole and served with melted butter, or a vinaigrette for dipping the leaves into. Break off each leaf and draw the soft fleshy base through your teeth.

I knew it had to be related to something nasty! I think it is the armadillo of the vegetable world, almost daring you to eat it. We have them growing around some of the allotments, I don't, as they have never appealed to me as a vegetable. There is one big violet tipped one on the patch next to ours and most of the others are 'babies' off of this! They seem to take root and grow at a tremendous rate.
The lady who has that patch told me to take one and try it out,which I did! I used a very basic recipe, just boiled in water with lemon juice for about 20 minutes. I also bought the real butter...Kerrygold.. as it is salted and melted some of this. When the artichoke was cooked I just pulled off the leaves and dipped them in the butter. The outer ones did not have much flesh but the inner ones were actually very tasty! It seemed like a lot of work for a light lunch but I would certainly try them again.
So I will be on the lookout for recipes. They need not be just for the vegetable patch either as they could be an eyecatching specimen in any garden! In the photo it is to the left and is quite a big plant (around 4 feet high) as can be seen in comparison to the scarecrow embryo! It dies back in winter and then grows at a great rate in Spring and early summer. This one is producing a lot of artichokes, as the mature ones are cut off more are coming on. It is also growing and producing without any human interference as this allotment was idle for a couple of years and the plant survived. I read somewhere that the artchokes cannot be used for the first year, all the flowers should be removed before anything develops otherwise the artichokes will be small and hard and inedible.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I've never tried artichokes, but it makes want to try one now.
Oh, and we do have those armadillos here. Do you have them there?
They are pesty little varmits. Digging up my yard and plants every night. Big holes too. I had thought of putting some type of widget with guess how many holes the armadillo dug last night.
Thanks for the links for the accordion.
Have a great day!
Dave said…
Hi - thanks for your comment on my blog. I've just arrived here to have a look around. Looks great so far. Keep up the hard work!

Dave
http://davesallotment.blogspot.com/
Anonymous said…
Yaay - a nice Irish organic blog to enjoy reading.

I have two globe artichokes trying to dominate my kitchen garden. I have artichokes coming out of my ears here in Devon (not literally.)

I agree with the difficulty and time required to get a tiny but tasty light lunch out of them! I'm thinking of selling mine!

Missing the ould country....
Hi Peggy, we don't get artichokes here in Tanzania although we can buy the imported tinned ones but I must say they have never appealed to me much ;)
I am passing on an award to you for your lovely and inspiring blog, which you will find here -:
http://foodfunfarm.blogspot.com/2008/06/arte-y-pico-award-for-my-blog.html
Peggy said…
ga.farmgirl. We don't have armadillos here, I have only ever seen them on film! The artichoke looks like one with layers of leaves!

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