I used to be scared of, but equally intrigued by fresh globe artichokes.  I bought one once and deconstructed it leaf by leaf until all that remained was the woody stem -  just so I could get my head around the idea of them. I mean – there must be a reason why they call them artiCHOKEs! They are fiberous and woody when fresh, and look completely inedible!

A while ago I was chatting to a foreign lass (I forget where she was from, but she was ‘continental’ as they used to say!) and she told me the best way to eat an artichoke is to steam it, then rip off each leaf from the globe, dip it in vinegar and scrape the soft flesh from each fiberous leaf with one’s teeth! It just sounded so delightfully primative!

While I was purchasing my artichoke today, the young lady behind the counter asked me what it was, I told her, and then she asked if it was a Jerusalem Artichoke. I thought I might mention it in here too – because they are very different vegetables. Globe Artichokes are flowers, and Jerusalem Artichokes are a root stock of a completely different plant. They look a little like ginger root, and can be used in a similar way to potato.

Ingredients
Globe Artichoke (Choose an artichoke that has tightly formed leaves – they are fresher)
Vinegar (I used a mix of Malt and Balsamic)

Method

Steam the artichoke for about 30-40 minutes, or until the outer leaves pull away easily.

Then, pull a leaf off, dip in vinegar, and scrape the soft flesh off the leaf with your top teeth. 

And repeat. Make sure you eat the heart of the artichoke – it is truly delicious, and is a lovely end to this messy artichoke-eating experience!

I forgot to add the pinenuts and basil to mine, but added it in the recipe – they’re important.  I was obviously a little scatterbrained while making this up!

I used Julia’s technique of caramelising the onions, as per her caramelised onion tartlets recipe - it worked perfectly! I used to use a similar method, but never rested the onions throughout. The addition of this step makes the onions gooey and delicious. So a big thank you to Julia! 

Also – a shout out to Heinz Pure NZ for making THE coolest frozen peas packaging in the world. Of course, I’m always going to be partial to a bit of Kiwi humour (my adorable husband is a kiwi) but it’s not just the witty words – it’s the clear pack that makes me very happy. Why? Because I can see that I am just getting peas, and nothing else! I’ve noticed a growing trend of companies adding a little water to the frozen peas to bulk up the weight. I don’t want to sound like a trashy Today Tonight ‘journalist’, but seriously: vegetable packers – Cut it out.  Ooh! Just checked out the website – very nice Heinz! They have a bio of the farmer who grew the vegetables and a gallery of the actual farm! Now that is slick marketing!

And a quick word on vinegar – Vinegar is a really good way of injecting extra flavour into foods without adding salt and oil. It still contains a fair whack of sugars, but it’s not as calorific as oil! So, I use it quite a bit to enhance my meals.

Ingredients

2/3 cup couscous
2/3 cup water
1/2 chicken stock cube

1/2 small butternut pumpkin
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 big handfuls of leafy greens – baby spinach, lettuce, baby beetroot leaves, endive, rocket etc
1 chicken breast
1/2 Tomato, diced
1 spanish onion
1 brown onion
handful of pinenuts, dry-toasted in a fry pan
handful of basil leaves, ripped.

Malt and Balsamic Vinegar
Pepper
Olive Oil

Method

1.Chop up the chicken into inch sized bits and marinade in about a 1/4 cup of malt and balsamic vinegar while doing everything else.
2. Cut the pumpkin into thick slices, toss with oil and pepper and put in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a little brown
3. finely slice the onion, reserve a little handful of the spanish onion
4. Put the onions slices in a pan with a little oil and heat quickly and stir around for a few minutes, then take off the heat and pull them all into one corner. Then repeat approximately 4 times until the onions are very dark brown and sweet and gooey.
5. cook the couscous as per packet directions with the added chicken stock cube.
6. Boil the frozen peas and drain
7. Drain the chicken of the vinegar and panfry the chicken until cooked but still tender.

8. Put everything in a bowl, with a drizzle of oil, balsamic vinegar and a crack of pepper and toss carefully.

Serves 2

1 Witlof, outer leaves removed and end of stalk trimmed.

1 tsp Sugar

6 ultra-thin slices of Prosciutto

Thick Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese

Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and place 2 oven trays in to heat..

2. Place the prosciutto in a single layer on a piece of baking paper

3. Place the baking paper on top of one of the oven trays, and rest the other tray on top of the meat. This will keep then flat when they are cooking.

4. Cook until crispy (about 10-15 minutes)

5. Sprinkle a little sugar over the witlof and place on a heated ridge grill pan. turn over once to char on each side.

6. Place Prosciutto and Witlof on a plate, drizzle over oil and vinegar, crack some pepper over and shave a bit of parmesan cheese.

1/3 cup Quinoa
2/3 cup Water
Chicken Stock Cube

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 large Chicken thigh, trimmed of all fat, deboned and cubed
1 bunch of Asparagus, trimmed of woody end and cut into inch long pieces
100g green beans, cut on diagonal into inches
2/3 cup frozen baby peas
1 Josephine Pear, cored and cut into 1/8ths
1/2 shallot, finely cut
Avocado

1. Rinse Quinoa and add to water and about 1/4 of the stock cube, in saucepan with lid. Bring to boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.

2. On high heat, brown chicken and remove from fry pan/ wok and set aside
3. Do the same with the pear to caremelise slightly, and set aside
4. In a little oil, stirfry the garlic and onion, then add all the vegetables and stirfry for a few minutes. Add a few spoonfuls of water during the cooking process to help the vegies steam.
5. Add the pear, chicken and quinoa to the pan, stir til heated through and combined. Season as required
6 Serve with a shard of avocado and a drizzle of oil or vinegar.

200g Strawberries, hulled and cut in half
3-4tbsp caster sugar
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (the thick stuff is best for this)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 sheet of Puff Pastry
1 egg
1 tbsp Milk

Cream, whipped with Vanilla extract, to serve.

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Choose a small fry pan with a handle you can either put in the oven or remove.
3. Trace around frypan with a knife to cut the puff pastry into a round that will fit within the pan.
4. Place the sugar in the pan over a medium heat. Keep a good eye on it until it turns a light golden colour.
5.Take off heat and add the vinegar and vanilla.
6. Arrange the strawberries over the bottom of the pan, cut side down. Gently warm so the caramel smoothes over the surface of the pan.
7. Spray the edges of the pan with oil spray. Place the pastry over the top and brush with egg and milk wash.
8. Pop in oven until pastry is puffed and golden.
9. Take out of the oven and let it rest until warm.
10. Place a plate over the fry pan, and with both hands and one quick movement, flip the tart over.
11. Serve with the whipped cream spiked with vanilla.