Vegetable
Artichoke
AlcachofaCarxofaCynara cardunculus var. scolymus
It's a flower bud eaten before it opens. It also leaves a sweet aftertaste that makes water, or wine, taste different straight afterwards.
When
Around: Nov–May · At its best: Feb–Apr
Around: Oct–May · At its best: Jan–Apr
Around: May–Nov · At its best: Aug–Oct
Around here
Carxofa del Prat PGI is grown in the Llobregat delta (Baix Llobregat) from the Blanca de Tudela variety. El Prat de Llobregat holds a yearly food festival devoted to it. In Catalonia it belongs to the calçotada and the grill: carxofes a la brasa, opened up a little with oil and salt.
At the market
- It should feel heavy for its size and be tightly closed, like a fist.
- Squeeze it and it should squeak a little; if it's soft, it's old.
- Green leaves without black or dry tips; a purple tinge from the cold is fine.
- Better with some stem: a fresh, pale cut means it was picked recently.
At home
- Fridge, unwashed, in a bag: 4-5 days; with the stem standing in water they last a bit longer.
- Once cut they darken fast: drop them into water with lemon or parsley.
- Cooked, in the fridge in their cooking water, 2-3 days.
If you have too much
- Trimmed to the heart, blanched 3-4 minutes with lemon and drained: freeze for up to a year.
- Confit in olive oil over very low heat, then jar them covered in oil and keep in the fridge.
- Preserve them plain in sterilised jars with water, salt and lemon.
- Outer leaves and peeled stems make a good stock or soup.
In the kitchen
- Raw, shaved paper-thin with lemon, oil and cheese shavings.
- On the grill: bash them on the table to open them up, oil and salt between the leaves.
- Fried in thin slices like crisps, or battered.
- In a menestra with broad beans and peas when they overlap in spring.
- In rice or an omelette, sliced thin and browned first.
- Roasted, halved, with garlic and parsley.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 47 kcal
- Water
- 85% water
- Carbs
- 10.5 g
- Sugars
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 5.4 g
- Protein
- 3.3 g
Stands out for
- High in folate68 µg · 34% of what you need in a day
- Source of vitamin K14.8 µg · 20% of what you need in a day
- Source of potassium370 mg · 19% of what you need in a day
- Source of magnesium60 mg · 16% of what you need in a day
- Source of fibre5.4 g
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
In the family recipes
- Alcachofas rebozadas Mum's
- Alcachofas al horno Mum's
The recipes are in Spanish.
Goes with
- CalçotDec–AprAn onion made to grow twice: the bulb is replanted and earthed up until it sends out long white shoots. You eat them charred black outside, wearing a bib and standing up.
- Broad beanFeb–MayYou buy a kilo and end up with a handful: the pod weighs more than the beans. The first small, tender ones can even be eaten raw.
- PeaFeb–MayAs soon as it leaves the plant, its sugar starts turning into starch. That's why a freshly shelled one tastes of something else: sweet, almost like fruit.