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The Aussie recipes I've been posting are from "Raw Materials", a
column written by Meryl Constance for the Sydney Morning Herald. In
each column she zeros in on a particular foodstuff, tells a bit about
its uses and history and then presents recipes utilizing it. Nice
format. Since I really like the style and content of the food
sections that Mark sent over I'm posting her whole column on
artichokes rather than just the recipes so folks here can get a feel
for it. Here's the introductory material. The recipes follow in the
next three posts.

Globe artichokes are among the most beautiful of vegetables - witness
their frequent appearance in still-life paintings. And for fineness
of flavour and texture, they rank alongside that other luxury
vegetable, asparagus.

Yet fresh artichokes are greatly underused in this country and many
people are only acquainted with the inferior tinned version, which is
about as much like the real thing as tinned asparagus is like fresh.
Globe artichokes are in season now and well worth seeking out.

Besides their culinary virtues, they have health-food status, being
low in kilojoules (about 90 kJ per I 00 g) and a source of various
vitamins and minerals.

At present, they cost about 60c to 80c each, though Raw Materials
recently saw some magnificently fat specimens for $2 each in
Leichhardt, where the Italian community knows how to appreciate them.
They are said to have originated in Sicily and certainly they were
developed into their modern form by Italian growers.

Botanically, globe artichokes are thistle buds. Choose tightly furled
artichokes which are as fat as possible. They will keep for a few
days in the fridge, lightly wrapped in plastic, and even better if
their stems are in water. Before use, they should be soaked upside
down in a sinkful of water to remove any dirt or insect residents.

Australians' underuse of artichokes probably has a lot to do with
lack of knowledge about how to deal with them and a vague idea that
it is a complex matter with traps for the unwary.

The trap, of course, is the aptly-named choke, a hairy inedible
portion lurking at the heart of the vegetable, at the centre of the
leaves and on top of the succulent base. Provided you know not to try
eating it, it's no problem.

Another daunting factor is the instruction, given in so many recipe
books, to snip off the top third of each leaf - fiddly and
unnecessary (unless you chance across the rare spinella variety,
which is cone-shaped and has a little thorn at the tip of each leaf).

When artichokes are served whole, plainly boiled and with a dipping
sauce, as an entree, there is no need to trim the leaves at all. In
fact, to do so dims their beauty as an object on the plate. The diner
pulls away each leaf by the tip, dips the base in the sauce and draws
the base of the leaf through the teeth to scrape off the meaty flesh
there. Used leaves are piled to one side until all have been
detached. Then it is just a matter of removing the choke with a
spoon or knife, before enjoying the best part of all, the base. The
whole process is a little ritual.

But many artichoke recipes are less reverent and are designed to let
the diner eat the whole vegetable with no mucking about.

For these, it's just a matter of slicing off the whole top of the
vegetable, leaving between a half and two thirds. Discard a couple of
layers of the tough outside leaves and tidy up the base (leave as
much as you can). If the artichokes are to be halved or quartered,
it is easy to see and remove the choke. If they are to be served
whole, pull and cut out the innermost leaves and open out the centre
so that you can scrape out the fibrous white choke with a teaspoon.

Cut surfaces of an artichoke blacken very quickly, so immediately rub
them with a lemon and drop the artichoke pieces into water acidulated
with lemon juice (or vinegar at a pinch) until you are ready to deal
with them. Don't cook them in aluminium or they will go black
immediately.

From "Raw Materials" by Meryl Constance, The Syndey Morning Herald,
10/13/92. Courtesy Mark Herron.

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; October 30 1992.

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