Marinating globe artichokes - how?

Badgergal

I love tinned artichoke hearts or marinated artichoke leaves in oil etc. They go lovely on pizza and are nice and healthy...

But very expensive! Over a pound for a tin and even more if it is a posh one in flavoured oils. But I wouldn't have the first idea how to go about making my own, I see them on the market 3 for a £1 but wouldn't know where to begin chopping it up etc, whether to cook it first or preserve it raw..?

Anyone?

Ta

Pal

I had a go at preparing globe artichokes on Sunday.

Apparently: you cut off the outer leaves and most of the stalk, then cut the top off so that you can see the purple flower inside. The insert a teaspoon into the flower and scoop out the hairy spiny bits. Then you peel the remainder of the stalk.

I think the idea is that you are left with the white solid bit in the middle which you then cook and eat (or eat in salad as I was attempting).

To be honest I gave up after about twenty minutes and threw the whole lot away and cooked something else. Expensive compost.

Debt_Free_Chick

Yes - you need to be able to extract the heart or the base from a globe artichoke. There's no need to discard the leaves - you can eat them as normal. Usually, you would dip the leaves in a sauce like hollandaise, aioli etc. Only those parts of the artichoke attached to the base are eaten - the tips are generally too tough.

Back to the hearts (or bottoms!) - there's a step by step instruction at the foot of this page. You can reserve the leaves - no need to waste them.

Once prepared, drain them, and put them in a pan with 4 tblsp of lemon juice, 4 fl oz of white wine, 2 bay leaves, 2 tblsp of white wine vinegar and a clove of garlic. Lightly simmer for 10 mins, drain and transfer to a serving dish. Remove the choke, when cool enough to handle.

Mix 5 tblsp of olive oil, 2 tblsp of lemon juice and a crushed or chopped clove of garlic. Mix thoroughly and pour over artichokes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Badgergal

Great, I knew the oldstylers would come through...!