March Veggie of the Month: Artichokes
This March, explore the unique world of artichokes with our Nutrition Corner's "Veggie of the Month". Discover its benefits, essential preparation tips, and recipes to savor this nutritious vegetable. Whether you're a long-time lover or new to artichokes, our insights will inspire delicious, healthful meals. Join us in celebrating the versatile and heart-healthy artichoke this month!
Benefits:
- Excellent at cleansing liver
- High in vitamins
- May help regulate blood pressure
- May lower bad cholesterol
- High in antioxidants that lower inflammation and prevent disease.
Preparation:
- Trim off the top
- Snip the thorny leave tips
- Remove or trim the stem
- Wash by rinsing under cool water, pulling back the leaves
- Submerge in water and lemon juice until ready to use
To eat roasted artichokes, peel each leaf, like segments of an orange, and enjoy.
RECIPES
The Most Amazing Roasted Artichokes
Ingredients:
- 3 fresh artichokes
- 2 large fresh lemons, juiced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or melted butter)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly-chopped
- fresh rosemary (plus additional fresh thyme, oregano, or sage, if you’d like)
- coarse sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- Use a knife to slice off the bottom 1/2-inch (or more, if you’d like) of the artichoke stems, and the top 1 inch of the artichoke globes (the leaves on top). Remove and discard any small leaves toward the bottoms of the stems. Rinse the artichokes with water.
- Slice the artichokes in half vertically. Use a spoon to scoop out the fuzzy “choke” in the middle of the artichoke. Then use kitchen shears to trim about 1/4/-inch off the pointy tips of each of the artichoke leaves (so that they don’t poke you when you eat them). Rub a lemon wedge all over the entire surface of each artichoke half, to prevent browning.
- Place the artichoke halves in a baking dish or on a baking sheet cut-side-up. Brush the cut sides of the artichokes evenly with the olive oil. Then fill the cavities evenly with the garlic, followed by a few small sprigs of the fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Flip the artichokes over, using the herbs to help hold in the garlic, so that they are cut-side-down. Brush the tops of the artichokes with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Then remove and cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 25-35 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender and the leaves pull off easily.
- Place the tray on a cooling rack. Carefully remove, discard the herbs (or stir them into your dipping sauce for extra flavor), and drizzle the artichokes with extra lemon juice.
- Serve the roasted artichokes warm with your desired dipping sauce or enjoy on their own!
Roasted Artichoke Hearts
Ingredients:
- 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- optional - 2 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Pat the artichoke hearts dry with a paper towel.
- Toss the artichoke hearts with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Place the artichoke hearts in a single layer across a parchment or aluminum foil lined, rimmed baking sheet - cut side down. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the artichokes from the oven, flip them over and sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. (If using optional minced garlic, combine it with the parmesan cheese before topping artichokes) Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Place the roasted artichoke hearts on a serving plate and serve immediately.
https://thishealthytable.com/blog/roasted-artichoke-hearts/
Shrimp and Artichoke Cakes
Ingredients:
- 1 egg, large
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 pinch of cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- generous handful fresh parsley leaves
- 1 14-ounce can artichokes, drained
- 1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails removed
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2–3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon, fresh lemon juice, cayenne, paprika, kosher salt and black pepper.
- Arrange the shrimp on a plate lined with paper towels. Let them dry as you prep other ingredients.
- Place the clove of garlic in the food processor along with a very generous handful of fresh parsley leaves. Process until mixture is finely chopped. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides once or twice. Scrape garlic and parsley into the egg mixture.
- Strain the can of artichokes then place in the food processor. Chop until small but still slightly chunky. Scrape into the egg mixture.
- Pat the tops of the shrimp dry, then transfer to the food processor. Pulse until mixture is pasty. It shouldn’t be totally smooth but it should become small and sticky. Pour into the egg mixture.
- Fold together all the ingredients so shrimp is evenly distributed, then stir in the panko breadcrumbs. Shape into 10 balls.
- Warm a large saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan, then warm. Once oil is fairly viscous, meaning it swirls around the bottom of the pan easily, add the shrimp and artichoke balls. Press down as you add them to the pan to form about 1/2 inch thick patties. Sear for about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown, then flip and cook the second side another 3-4 minutes until also golden and cakes are cooked through. Cover the pot with a lid or sheet of aluminum foil to help cook all the way through as they sear. You want to cook the cakes slowly enough that they can cook through without burning on the outside first, so adjust the temperature as necessary.
- Transfer to a clean plate lined with fresh paper towels and season with a sprinkle of salt while warm. Transfer to dinner plates and enjoy while warm!
Chicken Artichoke Lemon Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 can artichoke hearts, drained
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
- 2 cups chicken thigh meat, cut into cubes (pre-cooked can be used too)
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup medium grain rice
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 lemon
- 2 egg yolks
- 1-2 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
Directions:
- Chop the onion, carrot and bell pepper into bite-size pieces, and saute in the olive oil for 5 minutes.
- Drain and chop the artichokes then add to the rest of the veggies.
- Add the chicken meat, the chicken stock and parsley, sliced garlic, season with black pepper and salt, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the rice, stir, and continue to cook until the rice is soft (20 more minutes). Taste the chicken and veggies and if done, remove from the heat. Let the soup cool down slightly before proceeding to the next step.
- In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, and lemon juice. Add a little of the warm soup to temper the eggs and whisk quickly, then pour the egg yolk and lemon mixture back to the soup pot. Slowly warm up, but do not let it boil. Add the fresh chopped basil, and more lemon if needed. Taste for salt, and pepper and serve with a good crusty bread.