Pressure cookers & artichokes

[Guest guest]

I got into pressure cookers to do artichokes like Mom did back in the day when

they were scary to use. 

The new ones are much safer, and the results are perfect. I lo-o-o-o-ove fresh

artichoke hearts more than any edible thing on this Earth. 

When artichokes are in season I cook 4 artichokes at a time. First, cut away the

stems. Use kitchen shears and trim all the spikes off the leaves. Place in

pressure cooker. Follow all manufacturers directions carefully, please.

Have some marbled rye bread or rustic country bread, red pepper olive oil,

garlic infused olive oil, black olives, fresh peeled garlic cloves & fresh

heirloom tomatoes cut in quarters handy. A cut & quartered lemon is great, too

if you are in the mood.  I love the Spanish pa amb oli where they " scrub " the

surface of the bread w/fresh tomato & scrub hard again w/raw garlic . Then

drizzle w/olive oil. Let this marinate whilst the artichokes cook. 20 minutes

max in pressure cooker compared to 1.5-2 hr. in steamer.

Then, remove artichokes from cooker & let cool a bit. Loosen artichoke leaves

one at a time & dip soft tips in olive oil and weep. Dribble lemon juice into

the oil if you like. Sometimes I mix lemon juice w/veganaise for the dip.

Depends on the mood. Munch on kalamata oilves between bites. If you like wine, a

chilled dry white wine is perfect with this.

Once you've eaten all the tips of the leaves, gently dissect the artichokes.

Pull the cone/central part away from the bottom w/ a twisting motion, and

voila', there's the delectable heart covered with spines. Take a spoon or small

knife and gently scrape spines away. Takes the sublime hearts and mash them

gently w/a fork or slice tenderly w/butter knife into eighths. Eat some of this

deliciosness straight, some w/oil and some mashed onto pa amb oli.

This is Heaven to me.

And it's vegan.

You can also stuff artichokes w/herb seasoned cous/cous or orzo. That's a whole

other recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

[Default] On Fri, 9 Apr 2010 21:33:12 -0700 (PDT), judith bell

<judithb wrote:

 

>This is Heaven to me.

 

Beautifully written and every word it true!