List all recipes for: Cardoon
Cardoon Potato Gratin
Cardoon leaves look like artichoke leaves but its thick, fleshy leaf veins and stalks (the edible part) taste more like celery. Use only cooked. Cardoon is a vegetable that, like artichoke, oxidises and discolors quickly. The stems may have a stringy outside layer, similar to celery and will need to be peeled. Toss the cut pieces it into acidulated water (water with lemon juice) to keep it from discoloring.
When planning a dish with cardoon, keep the flavor of artichokes in your mind.
8-10 stalks Cardoon
2-3 medium potatoes, peeled
8 oz grated parmesan cheese
1 pint half and half or cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Blanch the cardoon stalks in water that has a splash of vinegar or lemon juice until medium tender. You can peel them if you like. Cut the cardoon stalks in 1/4 inch crescents, across the grain, like you would celery. Cut the potatoes into batons, about like a french fry. Toss the cut, blanched cardoon stalks with the potatoes directly in a gratin dish. Reserve a handful of the cheese for the top and toss the rest of the cheese with the cardoon/potato mixture. Add the pint of half and half (or cream if using.) Season with salt and pepper. Bake in a 425 oven 40 minutes or so: until golden brown and the potatoes are tender all the way through.
Cardoon Salad
Peel stalks of cardoons if the skins are bitter (may not be necessary if the stalks are nice and young). Blanch in salted water with a little lemon juice added until tender, that could be from 5-20 minutes. (I would cut the stalks in half so they'd fit my pan). Refresh in cold water, drain and then slice stalks on the diagonal (like you would celery) then dress with a vinaigrette. Make the vinaigrette with a bit of anchovy, garlic, lemon and a small splash of red wine vinegar, and olive oil too, of course. (Use 3 parts oil to 1 part acid: lemon juice or vinegar). Serve the cardoons at room temperature with some hardboiled egg, either chopped or in wedges.
Cardoon with Pasta
Slice and blanch cardoon. Sauté onions and garlic and toss with pasta, add some chopped green olive. Grate some parmesan cheese over and serve!
Mid-East Style Cardoon Gratin
Cut cardoon into 2" long pieces and blanch in salted water. Sauté onions and garlic with turmeric, paprika, parsley, and coriander. Add in cardoon and a handful of cracked green olives or oil cured black olives. Give a toss, and add a couple chopped tomatoes and some water (a couple cups). If you have some mid-east style preserved lemons, cut one up into largish pieces (1 inch or so) and toss that in as well. Cook for a 1/2 hour to soften vegetables and integrate flavors. This could take peppers (hot or sweet) or eggplant as well. Simmer until cardoons are tender, then layer into a gratin dish that has been rubbed with a garlic clove and lightly oiled. Layer with parmesan or gruyere and pour cream over all. Bake until golden and bubbly.
