Artichokes (Artichauts).—Of these there are three kinds, the Globe, the Jerusalem or sunflower (gira-sole), and the latest addition, the Japanese artichoke, or Stachys tuberifera, introduced and first grown in this country, I believe, by Sir Henry Thompson. The Globe artichoke, which is, in reality, a kind of thistle, may be cooked in a number of ways. To boil it plainly (as it is most usually seen in this country), the artichoke must first be well soaked in salt and water to remove all insects; then cut off the stalk close under the head, take off the hard leaves just at the bottom of the globe, and trim off the sharp tops of the rest. Now place the artichoke, head downwards, into fast-boiling water, salted as for other vegetables (use plenty of water, as this removes all chance of the bitter flavour sometimes noticed in these vegetables), adding to this the juice of a lemon, or a little white vinegar, and boil it till the leaves will come off easily if lightly pulled. If the artichokes are young (and they are only fit for boiling when they are young), this will take about half an hour. Drain off every
particle of water, place a freshly folded napkin on a hot dish, set the artichokes on this, and serve very hot, with sauce handed separately in a boat. A large variety of sauces may be served with them, beginning with ordinary melted butter—Sauce Flamande; Melt 2oz. of delicate white roux, season to taste with salt and white pepper, moisten it with about half a pint of boiling water, or milk, as you like, and stir it over the fire until it boils and thickens; then lift it off the fire and strain it in the yolk of an egg previously beaten up with the juice of a lemon, stir it, and serve. Oiled butter: Beat 3oz. of butter very gently at the side of the stove for twenty to thirty minutes, being careful not to let it catch and so discolour; when perfectly clear, and looking like good salad oil, pour it off very carefully—not to disturb the sediment—into a previously scalded sauce-boat, adding a little white pepper and lemon juice if liked (mind it is well skimmed whilst boiling. This is really “clarified butter,” and is used by first-class chefs for frying croutons, cutlets, etc.), béchamel, and many other recondite sauces. It is well to remember that for boiling, green artichokes are preferable to those tinged with purple, whilst those growing in a round, tight ball do not need their leaves to be trimmed. A French method of cooking artichokes, well worth the trouble, is the following, given by M. Urbain Dubois: Trim the vegetable as before, then quarter it, scoop out the “choke” (i.e., the inner vale of flower), rub the inside well with lemon juice, and parts boil in acidulated salted water; well, place in a buttered stewpan,
white pepper, put little morsels of butter over them, and stew gently over a slow fire till cooked, when they may be served with a maître d'hôtel sauce (to half a pint of rich bechamel or good brown sauce—if you wish it brown—add the strained juice of a lemon, a dust of cayenne, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, and, worked in at the last, 1½oz. to 2oz. of butter broken up small, working one piece well in before adding the next), or any other sauce to your taste. Artichokes cooked thus are excellent cold en vinaigrette (i.e., three parts best olive oil to one part tarragon vinegar, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, and beaten up with a fork till perfectly blended. To this some cooks add a little French or English mustard, but this is a matter of taste; beat up the salt first with the vinegar, or it will not dissolve, and the sauce will be unpleasantly gritty, an objection often made against this sauce); artichokes en salade are also delicious and easy to prepare. Trim as before, then quarter them and remove the choke, dropping each piece as finished into cold water, to which you have added the juice of a lemon or a tablespoonful of best white vinegar, as this preserves the colour. Leave them in this water for a little; when wanted, slice them and serve with a vinaigrette sauce, plain or with prawns, olives, filleted anchovies, plovers' eggs, etc., as you please. Artichokes treated thus, or indeed plain cooked artichokes left till cold and sliced, make excel-lent fritters, if seasoned with pepper, salt, oil, and vinegar, and as Artichauts en beignets are a favourite dish abroad. Stuffed artichokes go by many names, according to their stuffing mostly. The method of
preparation is this: Trim the artichokes as before, and boil for twenty minutes in salted and acidulated water; the stamens and small inner leaves should now lift out easily, then with a silver spoon remove the choke, fill the cavity thus left with any farce to taste, introducing a little also between the leaves, and tie each up closely to keep in the stuffing, place them close together on a baking tin, pour sufficient olive oil over them to insure each being properly moistened, and bake for about half an hour, then remove the strings and serve. If you make a d'uxelles (equal quantities of onion and shallots, minced, with double the quantity of raw minced mushrooms, seasoned with pepper and salt and some finely minced parsley, all fried together in butter), add to this a little bacon minced (say a small slice for each artichoke), and use for the farce, the artichokes will be à la barigoule; if you mince some washed and boned anchovies with a shallot or two (according to quantity), and a very little powdered thyme, pepper, and salt, a few freshly made breadcrumbs, and a few drops of oil to moisten it all, and use this as the stuffing, they become à l'Italienne; if you mince three well cleansed large fresh mushrooms, and mix it with a slice or so of ham also minced, half a small onion fried and minced, ½oz. grated cheese, a full teaspoonful of mixed and finely minced herbs, with the crumb of a French roll previously soaked in milk or stock, and a tiny dust of grated nutmeg, and use this for the farce, they become A. à la Parmesane; in short any dainty forcemeat can be used in this way and
A. farcis.