Vegetable
Cardoon
CardoCardCynara cardunculus
It's prickly, it browns the moment you cut it and you have to strip its strings one by one. And still, in some homes it isn't Christmas without it.
When
Around: Nov–Feb · At its best: Dec–Jan
Around: Nov–Feb · At its best: Dec–Jan
Around: May–Aug · At its best: Jun–Jul
Around here
In Aragón and Navarre cardoon is the Christmas Eve dish, with almonds or in a white sauce. In Catalonia it arrives in winter alongside its relative the artichoke, and in some homes it goes into the Christmas escudella. It's grown tied up and covered so it blanches and stays tender.
At the market
- White or very pale stalks, fleshy and firm, that snap rather than bend.
- No dark marks or dry tips; very brown cut ends mean it's been sitting a while.
- Thick, wide stalks give more to eat and less work.
- There's cooked cardoon in jars too: not the same, but it can save Christmas Eve.
At home
- Whole, wrapped in paper or a bag, in the fridge: four or five days.
- Trimmed and cut, in water with lemon until you cook it, so it doesn't turn black.
- To keep it white, boil it in water with a little flour and lemon.
- Cooked, in its liquid in the fridge, three or four days.
If you have too much
- Trimmed, cooked and well drained, it freezes in portions.
- As a gratin with béchamel, it freezes ready-assembled in the dish.
- Christmas Eve leftovers, fried up the next day with ham and garlic.
In the kitchen
- Cardoon with almonds, Aragonese-style: boiled, in a sauce of almonds, garlic and stock.
- In a white sauce or with béchamel, as a gratin.
- Fried with ham and garlic, simple and good.
- In escudella, with cabbage, leek and carrot.
- Stewed with artichokes and clams, as in Navarre.
- Battered and fried, in short pieces.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 17 kcal
- Water
- 94% water
- Carbs
- 4.1 g
- Fibre
- 1.6 g
- Protein
- 0.7 g
Stands out for
- High in folate68 µg · 34% of what you need in a day
- Source of potassium400 mg · 20% of what you need in a day
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- ArtichokeNov–MayIt's a flower bud eaten before it opens. It also leaves a sweet aftertaste that makes water, or wine, taste different straight afterwards.
- LeekOct–MarAn onion that never forms a bulb and tastes milder. The white part comes from earthing it up as it grows: the higher the soil, the longer the white.
- CabbageOct–MarA vegetable that gets better in the cold: after a few frosts cabbage turns sweeter. One head will feed you all week without repeating a dish.