About cardoons:
No, that isn’t a dinosaur wing in your CSA share this week — it’s a “cardoon,” a close relative of the artichoke plant and a culinary favorite in Italy and France. From the artichoke plant, we of course eat the flower — from the cardoon, however, we eat the leaf stalk. When prepared correctly, the cardoon leaf stalk has a rich nutty flavor reminiscent of its relative artichoke. Unfortunately, preparing cardoons correctly can be a long-ish process, so try this out on a relaxed evening. And, even though it takes more work, cardoons are a delightful change in our diet in these interim late spring weeks. Soon, we will be eating radishes and salad mix, but for now we can enjoy this new flavor!
Begin by trimming off any leaves from the rib/stalk. Scrape off any strings with a vegetables peeler or paring knife. Then cut stalks into 2- to 3-inch pieces, stopping where the stalk resists the knife. Immediately soak the pieces in water mixed with lemon or lime juice (1 tablespoon juice for every 4 cups) for about 30 minutes (this ‘acidulated’ water will prevent the cut cardoon edges from turning dark). If the pieces are tender, you can serve them raw for dipping. Because cardoon tends to darken, boiling in water with lemon juice is the preferred basic cooking method; steaming is NOT recommended.
For every 1 pound prepared cardoons, bring to a boil in a large saucepan 8 cups water with the juice of ½ lemon and 2 ½ teaspoons salt. (The cardoons will still taste just fine without the lemon — they might just discolor slightly.) Drop in the pieces and boil, uncovered, until the thickest can be pierced with a thin skewer, up to 45 minutes or one hour. You might notice that cardoons have a slightly bitter flavor when raw — the long cooking time mellows that flavor and brings out the sweet artichoke notes. Once cooked, drain well.
The pieces can be covered and refrigerated for a few hours. They are delicious lightly sautéed with garlic in butter or oil until hot and sprinkled with salt or grated cheese. Prepared properly, they taste like mild artichoke hearts. Yum.
You can also add cooked cardoons to any kind of vegetable gratin or frittata or puree them with other cooked vegetables.
About salsify blooms:
We first gave out salsify roots several weeks ago. They were the long slender hairy roots with beautiful grass-like greens above. Now those beautiful grassy plants are sending up thick tender flower shoots, which are delicious and edible.
To prepare, chop and lightly sauté in butter or oil with garlic. Cook until it turns bright green and is tender. Toss with cream and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
