How to cook artichokes? The best techniques and recipes

The artichoke is the flower head of a type of thistle, being quite appreciated for having an intense and very delicious flavor. It has multiple benefits in consumption as it is rich in vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, folic acid and manganese. That is why knowing how to cook artichokes would be beneficial to you.

Artichokes are also curious, this is because they have a component called cynarin. Said compound inhibits the taste buds from perceiving sweet flavors, and when drinking water or other food, it eliminates the remains of the compound causing us to feel a sweet taste even in water. Due to this fact, eating artichoke is an experience worth trying, so below you can learn how to prepare and cook this food, taking advantage of each of its best characteristics.

Pick and wash artichokes

When you are going to buy artichokes to cook you must have certain criteria in mind, the main thing is that they must be closed and tight ; the less open its leaves are, the better; They should also be dense and feel heavy when loaded, be completely green in color, and avoid those with black spots.

To start cleaning them, you start by removing the outer sheets that are usually hard and dry from exposure; The tips can also be removed if they are very hard, by cutting them. Inside, the artichoke has fluff, which you can remove with the help of a spoon.

Once this is done, the next thing is to place the artichokes in water (If you prefer you can rinse them first) or vinegar and lemon juice, to keep them fresh and delay oxidation.

Cooking the artichokes

Once your artichokes are completely clean, you have different alternatives to prepare them quite simple and that will not take much time; So that you know what you should do, next I will explain each of the ways to cook artichokes.

Steamed

To prepare steamed artichokes, the first step is to place them, being completely clean, in the steamer. Then you should cover them and cook them for approximately 25 minutes. To make it have a different flavor you can add some aromatic herbs such as peppermint, thyme or some sprigs of rosemary.

Baked

This process is also very easy to carry out; The first thing you should do is place the artichokes on a tray, add oil, herbs of your choice and a pinch of salt. The oven must be preheated to 200 ° when inserting the tray with the artichokes. Once there, they should be cooked until tender and golden, about 30 minutes is enough for this.

Boiled

You must place them in previously boiled and salted water, there they must be cooked until softened, which takes about 15 minutes or more. You can add aromatic herbs to the water to provide a much more distinctive flavor, such as when steaming them.

Fried

To prepare fried artichokes you must keep in mind that they can absorb too much oil, for this reason you should keep them cooking in little oil, over medium low heat in a non-stick pan and covered. Regarding the cooking process, you simply have to turn them every 5-6 minutes making sure they are golden and soft.

Recipes with artichokes

Knowing the ways to prepare the artichoke, we can enter the different recipes that this vegetable has for us. You can find different recipes, where the artichoke is combined with other foods to create recipes that you will surely love.

Roasted artichokes with cardamom and lemon

To prepare this recipe you need the following ingredients:

• A kilo and a half of artichokes.
• Three tablespoons of olive oil.
• Juice of one lemon.
• Two laurels.
• A sprig of rosemary.
• Four cardamoms (they must be green and crushed or powdered).
• Salt to taste.

The first step to prepare this dish is to place the oven to preheat to 200 °. The cleaned artichokes should be cut in half and placed on the tray, drizzled with oil and sprinkled with a pinch of salt. You should also place the aromatic herbs with the cardamom and lemon juice so that the artichoke oxidizes (You can also place the lemon pieces if you prefer). So, you should cook for 30 minutes until you see that it is gifted.

Once this is done, it only remains to remove the tray from the oven, you can serve the dish as a side or garnish.

Artichokes stuffed with ham sauce

What is necessary to prepare this recipe is:

• Between 4 and 6 artichokes.
• 2 red onions
• Mushrooms.
• Serrano ham.
• Parsley.
• Bread crumbs.
• Butter.
• Between 4 and 6 quail eggs.
• Vinegar.
• Salt.
• Ground black pepper

For the sauce you also need:

• Ham bones.
• Pig’s trotter.
• Spring onion.
• Cream.
• Leek.
• Carrot.
• Garlic.
• Water.

The first step is to start preparing the ham stock, which will be the base for the ham sauce. In a large pot, boil the bones and the pig’s trotters until it boils; when the water is full of impurities (grayish foam) the water must be discarded. In this way, excessively strong flavors and any impurities that accompany the meat are eliminated.

Then, we boil again in the clean pot the little hand and the bone together with the chives, the leek, carrot and garlic, until it boils; we must cook it for about 2 hours.

In a frying pan, the onion and mushrooms will be sautéed on a butter base, these must be cut very finely. When the sauce has been reduced, add the ham and stir until everything is integrated. This is set aside as a filling for the artichokes.

The artichokes should be washed and cut, removing the top, leaving only a few fingers high; it is very important that the lint inside is removed as well. We place it in water with parsley so that it has flavor while it boils.

The broth must be strained, in this way it can be boiled with the cream to reduce it to a sauce; we can also add butter. In some part of the process, the quail eggs must be boiled, in this way, in the already cooked artichokes a base with the sauce will be placed. We put them in the oven for 10 minutes to gratin them.

When serving, we place the ham sauce as a base with the artichokes on top. And ready! To enjoy.