Artichoke season is upon us. I can’t help but pick them up these beauties from the farmer’s market. Partially because they still remain a mystery to me. What’s one to do with that exoskeleton of tough scales? I know, I’ll watercolor it!
I must admit, I am still mastering the art of artichoke carving and preparation. But they will get my asparagus treatment, splitting them in half and baking them with a welcome smattering of garlic, lemon zest, parmesan and breadcrumbs. I need your help, dear readers. Please send me your favorite artichoke recipes!
Coucou Emilie! Thanks for the recommendation and son petit histoire! Are you back in Paris yet? Hope to catch up over drinks and/or artichokes soon.
French sometimes like to remind us a joke when talking about artichokes… I want to share it with you! 🙂
Colluche, a famous French humorist in the 80’s, said that “Les artichauts, c’est un vrai plat de pauvres: C’est le seul plat que quand tu as finis de manger, tu en as plus dans ton assiette que quand tu as commncé!”
Anyways, at home, we eat them as natural as possible, more often as an appetizer. We just boil the artichokes and make a béchamel sauce on the side. We dip the leaves in the béchamel and only eat the chunky part, until we get to the leaves we can’t eat. Then, we just take the hairy part out, and then eat the best part of artichokes with the béchamel, also. Very easy!