Vegetables

How to Clean an Artichoke

When I was growing up I never ate an artichoke. Never. I don’t even know if artichokes were in grocery stores where I lived, but if they were my mom certainly wasn’t buying them. When I began to cook Moroccan food artichokes popped up from time to time. They’re not as common in Moroccan dishes as they are in other Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisines but they are there. I’ve found frozen artichoke hearts in the freezer case and have used them with mixed results. I don’t think they really have much flavor. But, for the longest time the thought of breaking down a fresh artichoke scared me!

What do you do with that THING anyway?

Cooking for me has always been a journey outside of my comfort zone. Once I became confident with one skill I wanted to learn another. Master a recipe? Time to toss it in the file a make something else. So I knew I had to take on artichokes.

I watched a lot of videos, read tutorials and finally got an artichoke to try on my own. I’ve now been using fresh artichokes for a few years but know there are plenty of others like me who avoid fresh artichokes because they don’t know how to cut them down. So, this post is for you! (psst there’s going to be another post this week where you’ll be able to put your artichoke chopping skills to use!)

So first let’s look at a whole artichoke. This is a green globe artichoke and probably the most common found in North America. You will want to look for an artichoke that’s a decent size and the stem isn’t too thick and woody. Don’t worry too much about the outside leaves as many of them will be removed in the cleaning process.

The first step is to cut off the stem. You will want to cut at the base of the artichoke but not too far up. Some of the outer leaves will fall off from this cut but it should not be so high that the whole vegetable falls apart. The bottom of the artichoke is one of the most flavorful parts so don’t cut it all away!

Next, cut off the top of the leaf portion. Both the bottom and the top of the artichoke will be flat at this point. You may want to remove several of the outside leaves. They will be quite tough and won’t soften during the cooking process. You will notice the leaves get more and more tender the further into the artichoke you get. Once you’ve removed some of the outer leaves, gently loosen the remaining leaves.

The final step in cleaning is to remove the choke. The choke is found in the middle of the vegetable. It may be difficult to get to the choke if the artichoke is very tight. If more of the outer leaves fall away – don’t worry. You will be able to see the choke as it is the furry center of the vegetable. Use a large spoon or a melon baller to scoop out all of the choke.

You can now rinse the artichoke under cool water to remove any sediment or hairs from the choke. It’s important to note that artichokes begin to brown very quickly. This won’t affect the taste at all but it may not look pretty. You can put the artichoke into ice water to retain the color until you’re ready to use them.

That’s it!

I hope you’ll come back on Wednesday when I’ll be sharing a recipe for a Lamb and Artichoke tajine you won’t want to miss!

The Tajine Tales: Cooking a Tajine on the Grill

10:06 am by Amanda Mouttaki 3 Comments

Tajine is a staple of Moroccan cooking and food. There are a million ways to make one and no right or wrong way to put one together. Unless you ask my husband. Let’s call him a tajine purist. Certain spices and vegetables “go” with chicken, and the same with beef, lamb, fish, and every other protein. I operate off of that principle and learning what goes with what was a great learning tool. However I know that in the home kitchens of Morocco, women operate on the same principle we have here – use what you have! That’s the school of thought that this tajine came from. Mr. Purist absconded me saying that it wouldn’t work on our little backyard charcoal grill but I persisted knowing that it was the closest version of the Moroccan brazier (the authentic cooking apparatus) we had!

Suffice to say – he was wrong and I was right. His first bite of it he closed his eyes and said “this hobi, this is real Moroccan tajine”. If you’ve got a few hours, a bunch of friends and a love of charcoal this tajine is for you. Feel free to mix up the vegetables with what you have on hand or like.

Ingredients

(I use organic, free range products whenever possible for the best taste)

2-3 chicken breasts (bone in or out – any chicken will work fine in this)

3 Russet Potatoes

4 large carrots, peeled and quartered

1 large tomato cut into eighths

2 1/4 pieces of msiya (preserved lemons)

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

3 tsp high quality olive oil

3 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp ginger

Directions

Clean, peel and cut all vegetables into wedges (see pictures). Clean the chicken. In the bottom of the tajine, add half of the oil and the chopped up onion and garlic. Place the chicken on top of the onions and garlic. Cut each of the pieces of lemon in half and place one strip between each piece of chicken. Add half of the spice mixture (cumin, pepper, tumeric, ginger) on top of the chicken. Place the vegetable wedges around the chicken like the spokes of a bicycle, alternating potato, carrot, tomato. Add the rest of the spices on top of the vegetables and drizzle the remaining oil.

Prepare your grill, adding in charcoal and allowing it to warm up for 10-15 minutes. Cover the tajine and place onto the grill. The liquid may bubble out – don’t worry. In the beginning the liquids from the vegetables and meat will be plentiful but as it cooks they will reduce. If you feel like it is getting dry you can add some water into the tajine. Do not open the cover of the tajine more than 1 or 2 times during cooking. The lid circulates heat around the dish and that is what cooks the meal. It will take between 2-3 hours to cook. This depends a lot on the heat of the grill, the vegetables you are using, and how often the tajine has been opened. The meat and vegetables should be very tender and there should be some sauce left in the tajine. Eat hot, with Moroccan bread.

Beef Tajine with Cauliflower

11:10 am by Amanda Mouttaki 1 Comment

I have been working on getting this post up for sometime. It’s been longer between posts than I would really like and I hope to change that. I miss my kitchen! This recipe I originally found in Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco by Paula Wolfert. If you’re serious about Moroccan food you need to own this cookbook. I loved reading it! (Yes I do read cookbooks!). You can find the original recipe in her book, but I made a few changes. One of my favorite new kitchen tools is a steamer that sits right into a pan. I got mine from Pampered Chef for less than $20 and have used it often – this recipe included.

Ingredients:

1 lb beef cuts (bone in or out)

1/2 onion chopped

2 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

handful of chopped parsley

1 tsp ginger

2 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 lb – 1 lb cauliflour (decide based on what you like)

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic (is using cloves) in olive oil on medium heat in pressure cooker or dutch oven with a cover. Once translucent add meat and brown on all sides. Add all spices and add water, enough to cover meat. If using a pressure cooker, cover and cook for 40-45 minutes on medium high heat. Check water after 30 minutes, add more if needed. If cooking in a dutch oven, cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes, checking meat starting at 50 minutes. The meat should end up tender with a thick juice left in the pan. Transfer to an oven safe baking dish, with enough room to add cauliflour. Preheat the oven to 375.

In a seperate pan, steam cauliflour seperately. When finished add to oven safe dish with the meat. Place into preheated oven and cook 15 minutes until cauliflour begins to turn a golden color.

Vegetables

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