CAMPAIGNING FOR ARTICHOKES

 

Municipal elections across Spain are only a week away, but the only campaign slogan I’m signing on with is “Ni un solo día sin alcachofa”. Not a single day without artichokes. I endorse this platform, the promotional campaign of Alcachofa de España. I could eat artichokes every day. 

Although the season for fresh-cut artichokes, which begins before Christmas, is coming to an end, it’s a vegetable readily available in jars and frozen all year round.

The English name, artichoke, comes from the Spanish, alcachofa, which, in turn, derives from the Arabic, al-kharshûf, meaning a thistle. The artichoke plant, a mutation of another thistle, the cardoon (cardo), probably originated in Egypt/North Africa. 

Spain is the second largest producer of artichokes in Europe. Murcia (eastern Mediterranean coast) is the largest growing region for this delectable vegetable.

Discard outer leaves and top half of the artichoke.

Prepping artichokes can be complicated—remove outer leaves, pare the stem, cut the leaves off down to the heart, extract the fuzzy choke. Or, simple—just cook them in boiling water until a leaf pulls off easily and let each person dismantle his/her own. Either way, an artichoke produces a lot of debris, good for the compost bin. 

Don’t worry too much about artichokes’ tendency to oxidize and darken. Definitely don’t soak them in acidulated water, as that takes away their very special flavor. Prep them as close as possible to when you’re ready to cook them. If possible, drop them into the cooking water or oil as they are trimmed. If cutting up the artichokes stains your fingers, rub them with a cut lemon, not the artichokes. 

Here’s a recipe for artichokes as they are prepared in Córdoba. They are first sautéed, then braised in the wine of the region, fino from the Montilla-Moriles wine region of Córdoba. Montilla is a fortified wine much like Sherry, another Andalusian wine that is made in Jerez, for which it can be used interchangeably. The artichokes are even better cooked in amontillado, which is more full-bodied and mellow than fino.  Although artichokes are famously difficult to pair with wine, they go just fine with fino. 

This is a vegetarian version of this dish. However, if you order it in a Córdoba tavern, it will probably include slivers of serrano or ibérico ham (from the Córdoba region of los Pedroches) as a garnish with the finished artichokes. In this case, they may be braised in a ham or chicken stock instead of plain water. 

Artichokes braise in a sauce with garlic, saffron and  fino wine from Montilla-Moriles (Córdoba). 

Artichokes, Córdoba Style

Alcachofas a la Cordobesa

Serves 6 as a starter.

8-10 medium artichokes (2 ½ pounds)

Water

Parsley

1 slice lemon

¼ teaspoon saffron threads

3 tablespoons hot water

1/3 cup olive oil

¼ cup chopped onion

4 cloves chopped garlic

1 teaspoon flour

½ cup fino Montilla or Sherry wine

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

Sprigs of fresh mint

Scoop out fuzzy choke.

Trim the artichokes. Pare the stem. Remove two or three layers of outer leaves. Cut the artichoke crosswise about a third from the bottom. Discard upper leaves. Use a melon baller to scoop out the fuzzy choke in the center. Drop the artichoke bottom as prepared into a bowl filled with water to which a a few stems of parsley and lemon slice have been added.

Crush the saffron in a mortar. Dissolve in the hot water. Reserve.

Sauté artichokes with garlic, onions.

Heat the oil in a cazuela or wide pan. Sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat until softened, 4 minutes. Drain the artichokes. Cut each one in half (or quarters, if they are very large). Add the artichokes to the pan and turn them in the oil for 1 minute. Sprinkle with the flour. Stir in the wine and allow the alcohol to cook off, 1 minute. Add the saffron water, 1 cup of water, salt, pepper and one sprig of mint. Cover and cook until artichokes are very tender, 20-25 minutes. Add additional water, if needed, so there is always some sauce in the pan. Discard the cooked mint.

Serve the artichokes hot, room temperature or cold with the sauce in which they cooked. Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint.

The white fluff is an artichoke flower bearing seeds.

Optional version of Córdoba-style artichokes is finished with serrano or ibérico ham. 

More recipes with artichokes:

Meat-Stuffed Artichokes.

Crispy Fried Artichokes.

Artichokes Confit.

Artichoke and Orange Salad.

Mushroom and Artichoke Mélange (Menestra).

Artichokes with Shrimp and Clams.

Vegetable Stew with Artichokes and Dumplings (Pipeo).

Artichokes with Romesco.

Rice with Fish and Artichokes.

SPEAKING OF TONGUES

In the first cookbook I ever wrote (COOKING IN SPAIN; 1987), there were three recipes for cooking tongue. (As well as five for liver, two for kidneys, two for tripe and one each for brains, sweetbreads and testicles.) When I revised the book for a new edition (2006), I thought, “does the world really need three different recipes for tongue?” I cut two of them.

The one that appears in the newer edition is Estofado de Lengua a la Andaluza—Braised Tongue, Andalusian Style. Anything cooked in “Andalusian style” usually means a rich sauce made in the mortar (or blender) of almonds, garlic, saffron (or coloring) and spices.

Tender slices of beef tongue cooked in a rich sauce with almonds and saffron.

Although the original recipe calls for pork tongues, which are relatively small, I’m cooking a big beef tongue using the same recipe. I simmer it first until completely tender. At this point the tongue can be sliced and used as a cold cut (great on sandwiches with coarse salt, Dijon mustard and pickles) or cut up to finish cooking in the sauce.

The cooking wine, Andalusian style, is one of the wines of the region—Sherry (from Jerez, in Cádiz province) or a similar fino from D.O. Montilla-Moriles (Córdoba province). The fino, usually served as an aperitif wine, goes very well with the braised tongue as a dinner wine.

Use this basic recipe for the braising sauce, with almonds, garlic, saffron and Sherry, for cooking beef, lamb and chicken stews. 

Potatoes cook with the meat; peas are added at the end of cooking.

It's fine to serve fino Sherry as a dinner wine. It's especially good with this Andalusian sauce.

Braised Tongue, Andalusian Style
Estofado de Lengua a la Andaluza 

Serves 6.

Whole tongue, before cooking.

1 beef or veal  tongue (approx. 2 ½ pounds)
Salt
12 cups water
1 tablespoon vinegar
Black peppercorns
1 stalk celery
1 onion, quartered
1 leek, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
Bunch of parsley
2 bay leaves

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 slice bread, crusts removed
5 cloves garlic
1/3 cup skinned almonds
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 clove
½ teaspoon saffron, crushed
½ cup fino Sherry or Montilla-Moriles
2 potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
1 cup cooked peas

Wash the tongue in running water. Put it in a basin and rub it all over with salt. Cover with water and allow the tongue to soak in salt water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse again. (The soaking removes any blood from the tongue.)

Put the tongue in a large pot with the 12 cups of water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, the vinegar, celery, onion, leek, carrot, parsley and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook the tongue until tender when probed with a fork, about 2 hours. Turn the tongue once or twice during cooking.

After cooking, tongue is peeled and sliced.

Remove the tongue from the pot, reserving the broth. When the tongue is cool enough to handle, slit the skin and peel it off. Cut the tongue crosswise into thick slices or chunks.

Heat the oil in a cazuela or pan and fry the bread with 4 cloves of the garlic and the almonds, turning until they are browned. Remove.

Add the onion to the oil and sauté until softened. Add the tomatoes and fry a few minutes.

Crush saffron and spices in mortar.

In a mortar, crush the saffron with 10 peppercorns, the clove and ½ teaspoon salt. In a blender or mini-processor, grind the fried bread, garlic and almonds with remaining clove of garlic. Scrape the saffron-pepper mix into the blender and add the fino Sherry. Process until fairly smooth.

Pour the paste from the processor into the pan with the tomatoes. Add 2 cups of the reserved broth in which the tongue was cooked. Add the pieces of tongue and the potatoes. Simmer the stew, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. Add the cooked peas shortly before serving.

 

RICE IN A SKILLET FOR SAN RAFAEL DAY

I once arrived in Córdoba on a fine day in October, to find it was a local holiday, the feast of San Rafael (October 24). The whole town closed up shop and headed for the hills for a midday cookout. The favorite dish for San Rafael day is perol de arroz, rice cooked, not in a flat paella pan, but in a deep two-handled frying pan, over a fire of thyme, rosemary, wild oak and olive. And, unlike paella, the perol contains no seafood, only meat such as rabbit, chicken, pork and sausage.

Family and friends gather round while the rice cooks, then everybody eats from the same pan—cucharón y paso atrás—spoonful and step back.

The ruins of Medina Azahara, a Moorish palace, outside of Córdoba.

In actuality, as urban areas have spread, the open campo, or countryside, is no longer an easy walk from town. When I visited the ruins of Medina Azahara, a fabulous Moorish palace outside of Córdoba, I was amused to see signs posted in the adjoining fields: prohibido los peroles--“prohibited to cook rice in perol here,” because it was private property.

Cook over a wood fire--or in the kitchen.

I decided this would be a fine dish to serve my family and neighbors for Sunday lunch in my campo. Actually, I cooked it in the kitchen, not outdoors. Everybody enjoyed it—except the 11-year-old, who refused to eat the rabbit. He had been cavorting with bunnies just the day before and eating them was beyond the pale.

Add any vegetables you like. Asparagus and mushrooms are usual ones. I used green beans as well as asparagus, because my garden is overrun with beans right now.

Spanish cooks don’t usually use real saffron for their rice dishes, but a powdered yellow coloring. I like real saffron plus I add some pimentón (paprika), not smoked, for added color.

A perol, made of rolled steel, is lightweight and easy to manage over a wood fire. In the kitchen, use a flat-bottomed wok or any deep skillet. The rice should stay meloso, juicy, rather than dry like paella. If possible, use Bomba variety of medium-short-grained rice, as it doesn’t “flower” and overcook as readily as ordinary paella rice.

Córdoba wine, fino from the D.O. region, Montilla-Moriles, goes into the rice. If not available, use dry Sherry or white wine. It’s perfectly acceptable to drink Montilla right through the meal. Or, with rabbit, serve red, white or rosé! It's a "white" meat, farm-raised, so it's not gamy.

Rice cooked in a deep skillet, with rabbit, pork, mushrooms, beans and asparagus.

Rice in a Skillet, Córdoba Style

Arroz en Perol, a la Cordobesa

Serves 6.

2 pounds rabbit or chicken, cut in 6 serving pieces
Salt and pepper¼ cup olive oil
8 ounces pork, cut in 1-inch cubes
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
3 cloves chopped garlic
Red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup diced tomato
Sprig of fresh thyme or crumbled dry thyme
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped asparagus
¼ cup fino Montilla-Moriles
5 cups chicken broth or water
2 cups Spanish medium-short grain rice
¼ teaspoon saffron threads, crushed, and/or yellow food coloring

Season the rabbit or chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a deep skillet and put in the meat. Brown it very slowly, then remove. (It may be necessary to do this in two batches.)

Add the pork cubes, onion, mushrooms, green pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes, if using. Continue stirring and browning the meat.

Add the tomato and continue cooking on a medium heat. Return the rabbit pieces to the pan. Add the herbs, asparagus and the fino wine. Bring to a boil, then add the broth or water. Bring to a boil and stir in the rice.

Mix the saffron and/or yellow food coloring into 3 tablespoons of water. Dribble it into the rice and stir to combine.

Cook on a high heat for 6-7 minutes. Then lower the heat and cook 14-15 minutes more, without stirring, until most of the liquid is absorbed and rice is done. Let set 5-10 minutes before serving.