Artichokes & Mediterranean Pizza

Artichokes are something I am not very confident at cooking so when I saw them in the supermarket the other day I decided to give them a go. These artichokes are globe artichokes as opposed to Jerusalem artichokes which are a tuber and can be used in any way a potato can. Artichokes are a member of the thistle family.

To prepare the globe artichoke you need to either remove the stem at the base or peel it with a vegetable peeler and leave intact. Next you cut the top centimetre of the artichoke off and remove the outer layer or two of leaves. Trim the tips of the remaining leaves with a pair of scissors. Pry the artichoke open and remove the fuzzy centre with a spoon. My artichokes were quite young and difficult to open so I did this step after they were cooked as we ate them. Apparently this fuzzy centre is not pleasant to eat.

Dip the artichokes in lemon juice and then boil in salted water with or without added lemon juice. I decided to cook my artichokes in two ways so one I cooked whole for about 40 minutes and one I cut into quarters and cooked for 20 minutes. After removing the quarters from the water I tossed them in olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and grilled them until golden.
I made a simple mustard mayonnaise from mayonnaise and dijon mustard to serve the artichokes with.

To eat the artichokes you remove the leaves, dip them in the mayonnaise and pull them between your teeth to remove the flesh from their base. As you get further into the centre of the artichoke the leaves contain more flesh and when you reach the heart of the artichoke you realise the whole process has been worthwhile as it is delicious! They may seem unusual and a little scary but really you can't go wrong as anything that is too tough to eat you don't and anything that is tasty and edible you go for it!

Carrying on the Mediterranean theme I made a simple grilled eggplant and red onion pizza. Easy and yummy! Spread a pizza base with tomato pasta sauce and chopped garlic, top with char-grilled eggplant slices and red onion wedges, add sliced haloumi and fresh oregano leaves then cook in oven for about 15 minutes. Top with rocket leaves to serve. Enjoy.

I had some left over grilled vegetables so the next night I made a Mediterranean quiche/pie. I char-grilled some mushrooms and zucchini, added the left over vegetables, chopped garlic and halved cherry tomatoes to the pan and let it cook for 5 minutes. I then cooked a shortcrust pastry base (blind bake for first ten minutes), let it cool, sprinkled in some grated cheese, added the vegetables and poured over some beaten eggs and cream and cooked in the oven until it was firm. Served with salad this made a nice simple week night dinner.