Roasted Lemon Garlic Parmesan Artichokes

Roasting artichokes filled with garlic and well drizzled with olive oil and lemon gives them a lovely smoky sweetness that is complemented by some salty Parmesan.

I’ve written in this space many times before about the short year we lived in Cairo. Very little produce was imported because the Nile Valley was so richly fertile and vegetables and fruit could be grown year round. (Check out this post for a photo of the valley from space. It is amazing!) Our favorite time was artichoke season. (January/February, in case you are planning a trip.) They were so cheap that I must confess, we ate more than our share, trimmed and steamed, with garlic lemon butter to dip or pan-roasted and marinated with herbs and garlic.

Occasionally here in Dubai, I see Egyptian strawberries in the stores but, for some reason, the other gorgeous produce is not imported. Goodness knows that the Egyptian farmers could use the income, but perhaps the infrastructure just isn’t there for exporting more. So, from an overabundance of fresh artichokes, we’ve gone back to having them occasionally, one each, as a treat.

Like its predecessor, The Vegetarian Flavor Bible is all about which flavors and ingredients complement others. It’s not a cookbook in the traditional sense, but a framework to build deliciousness by combining ingredients to get the best out of them all. Along with the flavor affinities, the authors also suggest cooking methods and dishes to try. The list of what best accompanies or complements artichokes is long and varied so I chose to go with some of my own favorites: lemon and garlic. But then I added Parmesan, which I had not considered before. It contributes both saltiness and flavor and kicked the artichokes several more notches up the flavor chart.

Ingredients
4 whole fresh artichokes
6-7 cloves garlic
Olive oil
1 oz or 28g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 lemons
Parsley for garnish, if desired

Choosing fresh artichokes: Pick artichokes with thick green leaves, no dried bits and a stem of 4-5 inches or 10-13cm. Many shops cut the stems off and so did I for many years, following instructions in cookbooks for steaming. But while living in Egypt and researching artichokes, I discovered that the inside of the stem is not just edible, but delicious.

Method
Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the top one-third off of each artichoke and discard. Cut one lemon in half and rub the cut end of the artichokes with the lemon juice. This helps to keep them from turning brown.

Cut the very end off of the stems then use a potato peeler to take off their tough outer peels. Rub the stems all over with the cut lemon, squeezing out a little juice if necessary.

Turn on your oven to preheat to 400°F or 200°F.

Cut each artichoke in half, straight through the middle of the bulb and down through the stem. Once again, rub the cut parts with lemon juice.

Use a small spoon to scoop and scrape the hairy choke out of each artichoke half.

Squeeze in some lemon juice into the hole and rub it around to cover.

Place the artichokes halves, hole side up, in a large baking pan.

Peel and chop your garlic finely and divide it between the holes in the artichokes.

Drizzle the artichokes liberally with more lemon juice and olive oil, making sure to get some up amongst the leaves and cover the garlic.

Roast for 25 minutes uncovered in your preheated oven.

Remove the pan from the oven and turn the temperature down to 350°F or 180°F.

Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and poke the artichokes with a fork to check for tenderness. They should be done but, if necessary, cover them again and continue baking until they are tender.

Once they are tender, remove the pan from the oven and squeeze a little more lemon juice on them.

Then sprinkle the hot artichokes with the freshly grated Parmesan and another drizzle of olive oil.

Add a little chopped parsley, if desired, for color.

Allow them to rest until they are cool enough to handle, then eat as you would a normal steamed artichoke by pulling off the leaves one or two at a time and scraping the “meat” off with your teeth. Once you get to the heart, with the choke already removed, the whole thing, stem and all, can be eaten! Serve with additional lemon wedges, if desired.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I was sent one copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible for review purposes. This post contains Amazon affiliate links to the books mentioned.

Artichoke Dip Muffins #MuffinMonday

Rich muffins made with mayonnaise, Parmesan and artichokes, with just a small hit of heat from the jalapeño, these make great party food or a snack for the savory muffin lover in your life.

I am a fan of mayonnaise in all its forms, homemade and good quality store-bought, slathered on sandwiches, mixed through yolks for deviled eggs, heaped in potato salad. But I had never heard of mayonnaise cake. I must lead a very sheltered life. Last week in a Facebook group, the discussion was all about cakes made with mayo instead of eggs and oil/butter. And my first reaction was a resounding, “Eewww!” But I kept it to myself because of the risk of being pilloried; everyone else seemed really enthusiastic in the exchange of great chocolate and vanilla cake recipes using mayonnaise. Gag reflex in check, I even found a few versions online myself. I make homemade mayonnaise so I do know it’s just eggs and oil, I do. But still, a sweet cake with mayo? I guess I’m just not ready to go there yet.

But that discussion has been on my mind all week and it occurred to me that a savory cake, on the other hand, sounded like a capital idea. And what better to test that theory than with a savory muffin made with the same ingredients as my favorite artichoke dip, to wit, mayonnaise, artichoke, Parmesan and green chilies. With no eggs and no oil, just mayonnaise to fulfill both of those roles, I’m calling this one an unqualified success!

And since this is my blog and I can do what I want, I’d like to give a shout out to Eszther in the Shelf Drilling office in Dubai. Apparently she is a fan when my husband brings muffins in to the office and the savory ones are her favorites. And she reads my blog so I'm automatically a fan of hers. This one’s for you, Eszther! Hope you got one today.

Ingredients
1 can (14oz or 400g) artichoke hearts, drained weight 8 1/2oz or 240g
1 fresh jalapeño
1 cup or 150g finely grated Parmesan (This is one of the few times I recommend using the canister cheese rather than grating your own.)
2 cups or 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup or 120ml mayonnaise
1 cup or 240ml milk

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan liberally with canola, butter or non-stick spray.

Drain your artichoke hearts completely, even giving them a bit of a squeeze in your hands to make sure all of the juice is out. Cut them into small pieces. Halve your jalapeño and remove the seeds if you want to tone down the heat, otherwise leave them in. Mince the jalapeño.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, Parmesan and baking powder and stir well.

In another bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, artichokes and jalapeños.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed. Your batter is going to be quite stiff, almost a dough, but don’t let that bother you. Trust. They still turn out light and fluffy, as a muffin should.

Divide the batter/dough evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.

These would be also be great as mini muffins for a cocktail party or to accompany any lunch or dinner spread.

See? Very fluffy on the inside!

Enjoy!

Tilapia with Mushrooms, Artichokes, White Wine, Lemon and a Completely Unreasonable Amount of Cream

Calling all heathens.  You know who you are.   We are about to have a biblical lesson.  Not a Bible lesson exactly but I want to talk about fish.  And listening to your mother, because she is probably right.

Who remembers when we didn’t know what tilapia was?  Never heard of it and then, seemingly, it was ubiquitous.  On every fishy crushed ice spread in every grocery store.  And bags and bags of frozen filets in the freezer section as well.  When tilapia first came to my attention, my mother and I were discussing it and she told me that tilapia was most likely the fish that the apostles were catching in Sea of Galilee.  How does she know these things?  She goes to church, people.  And apparently pays attention during the sermon.  After just a little research, I discovered she was so right!  In fact, in many regions, they call tilapia St. Peter’s fish.  I think that is kind of cool.

This dish is one of my summer favorites because my sister, Marta, always makes it when we are home for the long school break.  Upon finding lovely fresh tilapia filets in my local Carrefour supermarket, I wrote and asked her for the recipe.  Her instructions included the method and the ingredients but no amounts so I will try to quantify it for you.  But I imagine if you put a little more of this, or a little less of that, this will still be just as delicious.   I am pretty sure I put way more mushrooms than she would but they looked lovely and fresh that day.

Ingredients
1lb 10oz or 750g button mushrooms
6 filets of tilapia
Sea salt
Black pepper
3/4 cup or 170g butter
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 cup or 120ml lemon juice
2 cans or jars of artichoke hearts (not marinated) - drained weight about 5 3/4 oz or 165g each
1 cup or 240ml dry white wine
2 cups or 480ml heavy cream
Optional:  flat egg noodles to serve this over.

Method
Rinse the tilapia to make sure all the scales are gone.  I also tidy up the margins with a sharp knife because I am like that about fish.  You don’t have to.   Give the filets a good sprinkling of sea salt and a couple of good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Clean and slice your mushrooms and squeeze your lemons, if you are using fresh juice, which I highly recommend.

Drain your artichokes.  I had jars of the tiny ones so I didn’t cut them but you can half or quarter larger ones if you’d like.

Melt your butter in a large saucepan, preferably non-stick and add a drizzle of olive oil to keep it from burning.

Gently cook the fish in the butter, for a few minutes on each side.

No one said this was a diet dish. 

Remove the filets to a plate when just cooked through and cover them.

Tip your mushrooms and artichokes into the saucepan and sauté until the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture, stirring occasionally.  I put the lid on and turned the fire down because I wasn’t in any hurry but this shouldn’t take more than about 5-7 minutes.

Add in the lemon juice, white wine and whipping cream.  Give it a good stir and lower the flame to a simmer.  Cook until it thickens slightly, stirring occasionally.

(If you are serving this over egg noodles, this would be a good time to cook them according to package instructions.  If they are ready a little before the fish, drain them and put them back in the pot with a good glug of olive oil to keep them from sticking together.)

Slide the fish back into the sauce, making sure to add back all the juices that have accumulated on the plate as well, and carefully redistribute the filets around the pan.

Heat gently until the fish is warmed through and then serve.

I was serving this for a dinner guest so I put the noodles in a dish, added the tilapia and ladled the sauce over the whole thing.  It occurred to me afterwards that a light sprinkling of chopped parsley would have looked pretty but never mind.  The dish tasted delicious.  Kind of a stroganoff of tilapia, if that makes any sense to you.

Give each person a healthy serving of noodles, topped with mushrooms and artichokes and one filet.

Enjoy!

I’m on a touring holiday right now with my mom so if I don’t answer comments right away, please know that I am still delighted when you leave them and will respond as soon as I have internet access again.