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Sicilian Citrus Artichokes

June 15, 2015 by Carine Clary 4 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASummertime! Time to give voice to your inner Sicilian. And what is he asking for? Perhaps a fresh steamed artichoke anointed with a golden sauce made of olive oil, orange, tangerine, and lemon. Yes, he wants Sicilian Citrus Artichokes!

Al Fresco in Palermo

So imagine you’re dining al fresco in a seaside trattoria in Palermo watching the fishermen rolling up their nets in the setting sun. The sailboats are bobbing on the white caps and you’re enjoying a glass of chilled Frascati while pretending to read your copy of Il Gattopardo in the absence of a badly needed dictionary. Everything is perfect until the waiter, noticing your reading material, begins a conversation in which you are completely unable to participate.

Carciofi ai Succhi

But not to worry! He has arrived bearing your ‘Carciofi ai Succhi.’ You spare yourself further humiliation by grabbing the dish and forthwith begin gobbling leaves and dribbling sauce and damn if it isn’t good! So good you breach protocol and stick your finger in the sauceboat and slurp it right off (the sauce, not your finger although it’s a close thing). Yes, it is that good! The tang of the capers and anchovies with the sweetness of the citrus are all swirling in an unctuous suspension of olive oil. You even manage to soak up the dregs with your bread.

You’d think something this tasty would require time and effort but in fact, it requires little of either. You may use small artichokes (pictured below) or larger ones and you can use whatever proportion of orange to tangerine you prefer.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe smaller specimens were intended for the final photographs but they all got eaten (!) and thus the monster mother of artichokes below got her shot at immortality. And yeah, she tasted good too. But on to the prep!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The Prep

So to recap the recipe directions below you just combine all the ingredients for the sauce in the pot, trim the stems a bit and let them slow boil to tenderness. Do it in batches if need be and if you need a little extra water feel free to add it in order to bring the level close to the top. When the chokes are done remove them to a platter, turn up the heat and let the sauce boil down to your preferred degree of thickness. I usually get a full cup out of this recipe using the proportions of liquid as outlined in the recipe below. When it’s done I let it cool off and check the flavor. Usually, it wants a little salt and sugar or honey and it’s good to go.

You may have some sauce leftover and you’ll find that it’s good with seafood. Use it on a pan-fried or grilled filet of fish or do what I did below. Get some sweet little Key West pinks, sauté them in butter and garlic and use the sauce for dipping.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASo there you have it. Sicilian style artichokes ready for dipping in the essence of citrus and the sea.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Sicilian Citrus Artichokes
 
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Author: Carine Clary
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
  • 6 medium artichokes
  • 3 medium onions sliced thin
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 cup orange/ tangerine juice
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar (or vermouth)
  • 2 cups water
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 4 anchovy filets (or 3 tablespoons Red Boat fish sauce)
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
  1. Place the sliced onions in the bottom of a large dutch oven and put the artichokes on top of them. If the artichokes don't all fit in your pot, boil them in batches using the same liquid.
  2. Combine all the liquids plus the salt and cook over a low boil for 30 minutes. Check for doneness by removing on and piercing the base with a knife. It should be fairly soft.
  3. Remove artichokes and boil down the sauce with the capers and anchovies till thick.
  4. You should end up with 1 cup of sauce. Taste it and adjust seasonings. This is where I usually add some salt and/or some sugar. Then strain the sauce and add more capers if you want them.
  5. Spoon some of the sauce over the artichokes and save some for the side.
  6. Dust with a bit of orange zest if you have it.
Notes
If you are using small artichokes like the ones pictured, double the number.
Cooking time for small artichokes will be about 20 minutes, for medium about 30, and for the big ones up to 45 minutes.
3.3.3077

 

Filed Under: Appetizers, Fourth of July, Italian, Vegetables Tagged With: artichokes, Carciofi ai Succhi, Citrus Artichokes, Sicilian Citrus Artichokes, vegetarian

Shrimp and Artichokes

February 26, 2015 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Shrimp and Artichokes

Sauteed shrimp and artichokes is the recipe for someone who needs something simple, fast and delicious at short notice.

The drill goes as follows: While the butter is melting, dice the bell pepper and garlic, add to butter, then peel shrimp and add to your saute which is now smelling really good. (And if you want to make it really fast use pre-peeled frozen shrimp and bottled artichokes.)

Shrimp and ArtichokesIf you’re serving it as an appetizer you may want to leave the tails on the shrimp – makes them easier to eat with your fingers, but tail or no tail – it’s your call. When the shrimp starts to get a little sunburned you throw in the artichokes and remaining seasonings, cover the pan for five, and you’re done. Don’t forget to toast some french bread to soak up the sauce.  The bell pepper and paprika turn that sauce a beautiful clear rose color which you will fleetingly admire as you gobble it all up and attempt to keep it from running down your elbow.

Mix it with some pasta and cheese and it’s a main course.

Shrimp and ArtichokesGoes well with a crisp white or a dry martini.

Shrimp & Artichokes
 
Print
Author: Carine Clary
Recipe type: Seafood
Cuisine: Creole
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter (1 stick)
  • 1 small clove garlic, diced fine
  • ½ cup diced red bell pepper
  • 1 cup artichoke hearts, quartered
  • 1 lb. large shrimp (peeled & deveined)
  • Coarse ground black pepper to taste
  • Juice from ½ of a medium lemon
  • ½ tsp. paprika
  • parsley (curly or flat leafed)
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter over a low heat in a wide saute pan.
  2. Add diced red bell pepper and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until done.
  4. Add the artichoke hearts, black pepper, lemon juice, and paprika.
  5. Cut the heat and cover the pan for a few minutes to let the flavors mingle.
  6. Give the pan a little shake, uncover, garnish with parsley, and serve.
Notes
The directions differ depending on what kind of artichokes are used. I use the ones in the deli section that are usually floating in oil or water. These are already cooked and can be added to the saute just long enough to be warmed. They taste just as good as the others and make the recipe very fast to prepare.

Some grocery stores sell canned artichoke hearts and some come in glass jars. My experience with the canned version is that they all taste like metal. The ones in the glass jars taste good enough but are harder to find.

If you are using fresh artichokes you'll need to follow the usual procedure of steaming them, then cutting them down to the heart then quartering them before adding to the pan.
3.2.1311

 

Filed Under: Appetizers, Creole, Seafood Tagged With: artichokes, red bell pepper, saute, shrimp

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Hello, I'm Carine Clary and I'm the FrangloSaxon.

And is that a word? In a word - Yes! It reflects my French connections in the south part of the state and the Anglo Saxon ones on the Arkansas state line. I grew up eating & loving all the foods of Louisiana and the idea is to collect lots of them right here on this website.

What you'll find here is food that reflects everybody's cooking. Creole we know. Cajun we know. But how about Croatian or Vietnamese....or Italian or German....or the underestimated plain Southern food they do so well in the upstate parishes?

They're all part of who we are so pull up your chair and join me for some good eats!

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