Friday, April 26, 2013

Raw Artichoke Salad









Raw artichokes? Yes, raw artichokes. Cast aside those thoughts of chewing through cardboard. That might be the case if you used regular artichokes. But this salad is made with baby artichokes - the ones that measure only about three inches long and are in markets right now. 




Even so, you can't just bite right into these artichokes. They do look a bit foreboding with those prickly leaves, don't they? There's a bit of prep work to do first, including stripping off all of those pesky outer leaves. For those of you who might be thinking what a waste that is, you can recycle the leaves by cooking them in water and making vegetable broth to use in risotto, soups or stews. Once you've stripped off enough leaves to get down to the very tender interior, trim the stem all the way around.




Then slice off the top section of the artichoke to get rid of the prickly part.




Cut the artichoke in half. At this point, if you were trimming regular size artichokes, you'd have to scoop out the center choke. But in these baby artichokes, it's still quite tender, so leave it in.




Cut into very thin slices.




Have ready a bowl of acidulated water (water with lemon juice or vinegar), or the dressing you're going to use for the salad, and immediately drop the slices into that. Otherwise, the artichoke will oxidize and turn brown very quickly.




Then prepare the other ingredients: wash the arugula, slice the mushrooms and shave some strips from a piece of parmesan cheese (I use a vegetable peeler to do this). Toss everything with the dressing and I promise you, cardboard will be the last thing on your mind.







For a tutorial on trimming large, globe artichokes and a recipe for artichoke risotto, click here.





Raw Artichoke Salad






It's hardly a recipe, just a list of ingredients mixed with a vinaigrette.





arugula


baby artichokes


parmesan cheese


white button mushrooms


extra virgin olive oil


lemon juice


salt, pepper





Prepare the dressing by mixing 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts extra virgin olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Wash the arugula and mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms. Trim the artichokes and slice thinly. Toss the artichokes, the mushrooms and arugula with the dressing and mix with shavings of parmesan cheese.




Bookmark and Share


15 comments:

  1. un piatto fresco e leggero che mi piace molto ! Buon weekend cara Linda, un abbraccio !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marvelous! I've never eaten raw artichokes. Something I must try very soon.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds great! Tender vegetables taste so much better!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice and healthy, right up my alley! I would eat artichokes any which way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Deliziosa la tua insalata di carciofi, un inno alla primavera. buon fine settimana Daniela.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful showcase of spring vegetables! You've sold me on raw artichokes!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'll have to look for baby artichokes in the market this weekend. It is one elusive vegetable around here in the DC area. It's not that stores don't carry them; it's just that it's hard to find good fresh ones that are worth the price you have to pay for them. I love the flavor of raw baby artichokes ~ slightly nutty. We were in Garfagnana a few years ago and had tagliata with thinly sliced raw baby artichokes and shaved parmigiano scattered over it. It was delicious. Your salad looks so good. Thanks Linda & buon weekend

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've been looking for baby artichokes! And now I know what I will do with them ... when I find them. Such a sign of spring - gorgeous, tasty, light!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I adore those baby artichokes! But funnily enough, they disappeared from the markets around here some weeks ago. I haven't seen them since. Not sure where they went....

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a wonderful dish for spring! And for me, an Artichoke Newbie, the Preparartion Primer is most welcome! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I dream of artichokes, my absolute favorite! But I've never eaten them raw, what's wrong with me!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I hope I can find baby artichokes locally to try this! I also like the idea of saving the leaves to make artichoke broth for risotto.

    I often save my vegetable peelings and onion and garlic skins (all rinsed cleaned) in the freezer and when I have enough I boil, strain and use the liquid as vegetable broth for soups and stews.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fresh and lovely! I can't get enough of artichokes lately.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Perfect photos for understanding how to cut up artichokes correctly! I've got to try raw chokes now! I'm sure that the flavor is outstanding! Thanks Linda for sharing this!

    Roz

    ReplyDelete
  15. I always order raw artichoke salad if it's on the menu at Italian restaurants. Now I'm going to make it myself. Grazie Linda!
    LL

    ReplyDelete