Artichokes are a mystery to many American dinner tables. They really should not be as they are very nutritious and can be a lot of fun to eat. These interesting veggies are high in fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, and biotin. Artichokes are also a good source of vitamin A, and potassium. Here is an simple example of one way to cook an artichoke.
This vegetable from the thistle family does have thorns just like any other thistle. The thorns are at the tips of the leaves and very easy to remove with a pair of kitchen scissors. You then can cut off the top fourth to third of the small leaves. There is not much in these leaves to eat so you may as well remove them. Get a big pot of water boiling and salt well. If you wish you can also add a large slice of lemon to the water. Once the water is boiling add the artichokes. Somewhere between a half hour and fifty minutes you can check your artichokes to see if a leaf easily pulls off. If the leaf does come off easily, your choke is done. Remove your artichoke and allow to drain. You can dip your artichokes in a butter, salt, pepper, and lemon dip. Start by pulling off a leaf. You will be eating the fleshy part at the very base of the leaf by scraping it on your teeth. Once you have dipped the fleshy part of the leaf, put the leaf about half way into your mouth. Carefully put your teeth together and pull. You will scrape the fleshy part and leave the leaf behind. Once you have eaten all of the fleshy parts of the leaves you will be left with a fuzzy looking “choke”. Now you need to scrape off this fuzz with a spoon or cut it off with a knife. The fuzz is not edible. Under this fuzz is the heart of the artichoke. The heart is good to eat. You may or may not wish to eat the stem. This is personal choice. I don’t prefer artichoke stems myself. Want to have a different food for date night? Artichokes may be the way to go. You can feed each other leaves for an evening of fun. It is well work the time and effort to eat artichokes because of the nutritional value they have. @@OPTIN@@.
{ 0 comments… add one now }