La Lama Mountain Ovens
Old Italian family recipes
and archives, baking tips, and bakery gifts
Family Secrets
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La Lama Mountain Ovens |
The best of the recipes, techniques, and methods practiced by our large extended Italian-American family - with emphasis on the legacy handed down to us by the original immigrants. This is a cookbook-in-process project. If you try any of these recipes please let us know how they turn out, whether or not you had any difficulties, and any clarifying improvements you might recommend to make them foolproof. We will of course acknowledge genuine "test-kitchen" assistance. |
Family Secrets #35Artichokes - Stuffed and Marinated By CeCe Dove, La Lama Mountain Ovens |
| Vegetables play a very
important role in Italian cuisine. The Mediterranean diet
is heavily weighted toward vegetables and grains and,
except for rare instances, meat is consumed in small
quantities. In my travels through Italy I am always
impressed with the number of dishes on the antipasti
table that featured vegetables. Sautéed, marinated,
pickled, steamed, or combined with rice, they are treated
like star players in Italian menu planning, not
supporting actors. Our dad settled in western Pennsylvania around 1920 and brought with him his love of vegetables. The land there is lush and fertile, although the growing season is not very long. His garden was the envy of the neighborhood and we feasted all summer and into the autumn on his harvest. Mom would preserve the excess either by canning or pickling and these would get us through the winter with only an occasional purchase of frozen or canned vegetables or fruit. He grew all the standard garden vegetables but nothing exotic. Artichokes were a favorite in our family, but since they did not winter over in our part of the U.S. Dad did not plant them. It was one of the few spring and summer vegetables we would buy. The artichoke is a lovely perennial plant. If you are lucky enough to live in northern California, especially near the coast, they will grow well for you. Over 95% of all the artichokes consumed in this country are grown near Watsonville, California. They love the cool foggy nights and sunny hot afternoons. The plant will send up a central stalk which will develop one large artichoke, and will send side stalks off with smaller artichokes. Of course you harvest them when the artichokes are tightly closed, but if you let them actually open they will reward you with a spectacular vivid purple thistle; not edible at this point but definitely showy! Mom had two recipes only, both using the large artichoke, and both still family favorites. The first was the simplest and most familiar to everyone. The artichokes were simply trimmed and boiled in water, flavored with salt, peppercorns, vinegar, and olive oil. After removing the internal choke serve with lots of melted butter (clarified butter is even better). You pull off a leaf at a time, dip it in the butter, and scrape the flesh off with your teeth. The heart is well worth all this effort and mess. Her second recipe, for stuffed artichokes, is a little more elaborate but makes a wonderful first course or even a light dinner on a hot summer night if you add the optional meat. When we moved to northern California and had available what was called "baby" artichokes I added another recipe to the family file. Baby artichokes are not really immature buds but rather the small side blossoms that the plant sends out. Even though they are fully mature they do not develop the hairy internal choke that the large ones have. They are no more than an inch or two in diameter and are fully edible. Cooked and marinated in your favorite olive oil dressing they are a fabulous addition to an antipasto plate or a salad. _______________________________________ Mom’s Stuffed Artichokes |
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| Put the water, peppercorns, salt, vinegar, and olive oil on to boil in a large pot. Pull the tough outer layer of leaves off the artichoke, snapping them at the base. Discard these. With a serrated knife cut about one inch from the top of the artichoke and discard those trimmings. Trim the stem end flush with the bottom and rub all the cuts with lemon to prevent discoloring. If any of the leaves still have sharp points cut these off with a scissors. Drop the trimmed artichokes into the boiling water, place a lid slightly askew on the pot and cook until ¾ done, about 30 minutes for a large artichoke or 20 minutes if they are medium. They will complete their cooking in the baking process. Remove them from the water with tongs and place upside down on a rack to drain. When just cool enough to handle remove the inner hairy choke by gently prying apart the center and scrapping with a teaspoon down to the heart. |
Stuffing:
Mix all ingredients together. |
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Baking the
artichokes
Use a casserole or roasting pan large enough to hold all four artichokes comfortably. Preheat oven to 350. Place the precooked artichokes in the baking pan, spreading the leaves out gently with your hands without breaking them. Sprinkle the dry stuffing mixture evenly over the four artichokes being sure that the mixture gets into the center and inside the leaves. Drizzle the olive oil generously over all. Cover and bake 40 minutes for large and 35 minutes for medium sized artichokes. Marinated Baby Artichokes Yield: One pound of very small artichokes should yield 12-15 pieces. Use the same water mixture as the above recipe to cook the artichokes. Trimming only involves cutting a tiny bit from the top, trimming the base, and pulling off a few of the outer leaves. Since they have no inner choke this final cleaning step is eliminated. Drop in the boiling water and cook until a knife inserted in the stem end pierces the heart easily, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well, cut in half and toss with the following vinaigrette or you own favorite oil dressing. |
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| Shake all ingredients
in a covered jar. Altitude Adjustment: Over 5,000 ft add 8 minutes to boiling time, prorate accordingly at moderate altitudes. |
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