it’s still artichoke season, and i always enjoy seeing the “baby” version of things in the produce section. i know that means i will only be able to get my hands on them for a brief time. much like the baby leeks {ramps} or baby garlic {scapes}, baby artichokes are only available for a short season in late spring and early summer. and so naturally i had to try some.
ingredients for my plate :
– baby artichokes
– 1 cup whole wheat cous cous
– vidalia onion
– crimini mushrooms
– lemon
– parano cheese
– featured seasonal garlic scapes :
regular garlic or even red garlic {if you can find it} will do just fine in this dish…
begin by trimming your artichokes. remove the tougher outer leaves and chop off the stem at the bottom.
slice in half and pause to marvel at nature’s beautiful way of creating a palette of exquisite colour…
am i weird for thinking this is so cool?! i seriously am in utter AWE when i look at some of the food i cook every day. the colour it creates, the beauty. just by being. — nature just kind of blows me away. sigh, i digress…
chop up those pretty garlic scapes — bulbs and about 3/4 of the way up the scape itself – toss out or compost the tougher end pieces. in a medium-heat skillet, add in garlic scapes and 2 tablespoons butter of choice {veggie stock will work if you are avoiding dairy!} saute until they brown and crisp a bit.
add in 1/4 cup of water and juice of one lemon. toss in your sliced baby artichokes and cover. steam on medium to high heat, mixing them around occasionally to avoid sticking. these will take about 15 minutes to steam. look for them to be tender all the way through, particularly by the stem.
meanwhile, i prepared my side dish — vidalia onion and mushroom whole wheat cous cous. in another saute pan, add sliced vidalia onions and crimini mushrooms in with a couple spins of EVOO. saute until they begin to brown…
add in 2 cups water and bring to a boil, then mix in your cous cous. bring to a boil again and remove from heat. fluff with a fork and keep aside until artichokes are ready. i know mine are done when i can easily slide my fork through the bottom part, close to the heart.
i served this dish with a bed of fresh greens and topped my baby artichokes with freshly grated parano cheese. any sharp cheese will do – parmesan or otherwise. and you can eat the entire artichoke. i did kind of learn that the more outer leaves you remove, the less fibrous they will be — so maybe take a few more off than i did in the photo 🙂
still very tender and delicious! and full of fiber and other healthy goodness!
food & foto 
I love it! look at all the color! this looks delicous
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Reblogged this on Urban Farm Foodista.
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beautiful – I just posted about Artichokes too, but wish that we had more access to appropriately priced baby artichokes (or regular ones) – looks amazing!
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yes, i saw that – they looked awesome! i love me some artichokes! have you ever had purple ones?! do you do a CSA or just live farther out where you have less access to grocery stores?
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We do a CSA and have plenty of stores – but I do not think artichokes are grown locally on the East Coast and the cost is just ridiculous!
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Yum! You’re making me hungry… 🙂
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