Artichokes in Garlic Basil Cream Sauce

After an almost 3 week hiatus, I'm back on the 'New Veggie' wagon and the latest honoree and New Veggie #27 is the mighty Artichoke. After years and years of only eating Spinach and Artichoke dip in restaurants, I decided to give this beautiful vegetable a try at home.  

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium Artichoke
2. 1/4 cup Soy milk
3. 1 tbsp minced garlic
4. 1 tbsp minced dried onion flakes
5. 8-10 mushrooms, quartered.
6. 5-6 fresh Basil leaves, finely diced
7. Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. 

Cleaning and Preparing Artichokes:

The most interesting fact I learnt about artichokes - when you're buying one, try pressing the bulb together, and it should talk to you :) !! The leaves squeak when they rub together and that is a good sign that it is a fresh bulb. To prepare it for cooking, wash the artichoke under cold running water, turn it upside down and give it a good shake to get rid of excess water; then dry it with a clean towel. Using a sharp Chef's knife, cut off the top inch of the artichoke - the portion where the leaves are tightly bunched together. Then, using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut off the sharp points from the remaining leaves. Now cut the bulb into quarters and scoop out all the purple leaves and the "hairs" that cover the artichoke heart. A paring knife works best at this point. Keep a bowl of water (with the juice of half a lemon) handy and as you clean up each piece, drop the cleaned pieces in it to prevents the artichokes from discoloration - which happens quite quickly upon exposure to air. Remove as many of the tough leaves - the easiest way is to simply grab each leaf, starting with the outermost and pulling downward towards the stem. Once the inner pale leaves are exposed, you're ready to do the final touch up. Use the paring knife remove any hard portions near the stem. Cut off the stem and wash well to remove any hairs clinging to the heart. I cut my artichoke into 8 wedges this evening.

Directions: 

Line a skillet with soy milk and add minced garlic and onion. Saute garlic for a couple of minutes and then add artichoke wedges, toss well, cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the leaves are nice and tender.  Add another splash of soy milk, as needed, if it begins to look dry. Add mushrooms (any kind, I used baby bellas this evening). Cook for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms warm up. I don't typically like to cook down mushrooms as I like the meaty texture of mushrooms. After a couple of minutes, add freshly diced basil, toss well and serve over warm couscous. The dish should be very moist with the soy milk almost all evaporated to a creamy texture. 

My Assessment: I really really enjoyed dinner today. I loved the creamy goodness of soymilk on the artichoke and the garlic really added to the flavor as well. This was like eating artichoke dip, without any of the high calorie ingredients in the restaurant variety. Next time, I might make this with baby spinach instead of mushrooms to see if how close I can get to the restaurant style Spinach and artichoke dip. One lesson learnt - do not be frugal about removing the outermost tough leaves. I left a few that should have been removed and they were really tough to eat. In the end I didn't eat them, and they increased my cook time as well. 

My Herb Garden

Today was also the first time I used herbs out of my own little herb garden. I started it 2 weeks ago and now that it has had a chance to establish its roots a little bit, I took my first harvest. 

Veggie Fact of the Day

Artichokes are one of the oldest foods known to man. Zeus was said to have turned a scorned lover into an artichoke. They are native to the Mediterranean and were brought to the US in the 19th century by French and Spanish immigrants. Today, California is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World, with Castroville, CA calling itself the Artichoke Center of the World. In 1948, Marilyn Monroe (then Norma Jean) was crowned Castroville's 1st "Artichoke Queen." Interestingly, the artichoke, a flower, is said to be an aphrodisiac and because of this, women were prohibited from eating it until the 16th century, in many countries. Luckily for us, women can now freely consume artichokes and benefit from its lovely properties ;) - along with being an aphrodisiac, it is also known to be hepatoprotective, anticarcinogenic, antioxidative, antibacterial, and even has some anti-viral properties. Virtually fat-free, the artichoke weighs in at 25 calories (per medium artichoke) and is low in sodium. It is also a significant source of Vitamin C, folic acid (Vitamin B9) and magnesium, and like other plant based foods, rich in dietary fiber.

Cleaning and Preparing Artichokes: The most interesting fact I learnt about artichokes - when you're buying one, try pressing the bulb together, and it should talk to you :) !! The leaves squeak when they rub together and that is a good sign that it is a fresh bulb. To prepare it for cooking, wash the artichoke under cold running water, turn it upside down and give it a good shake to get rid of excess water; then dry it with a clean towel. Using a sharp Chef's knife, cut off the top inch of the artichoke - the portion where the leaves are tightly bunched together. Then, using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut off the sharp points from the remaining leaves. Now cut the bulb into quarters and scoop out all the purple leaves and the "hairs" that cover the artichoke heart. A paring knife works best at this point. Keep a bowl of water (with the juice of half a lemon) handy and as you clean up each piece, drop the cleaned pieces in it to prevents the artichokes from discoloration - which happens quite quickly upon exposure to air. Remove as many of the tough leaves - the easiest way is to simply grab each leaf, starting with the outermost and pulling downward towards the stem. Once the inner pale leaves are exposed, you're ready to do the final touch up. Use the paring knife remove any hard portions near the stem. Cut off the stem and wash well to remove any hairs clinging to the heart. I cut my artichoke into 8 wedges this evening.

Herb & Spice Fact of the Day

Basil known often as the king among herbs, is one of the oldest and most popular culinary herbs. 

It belongs to the genus: Ocimum and is a highly revered as a "holy herb" in many traditions all over the world, including India. There is a potted Tulsi (Ocinum sanctum) in every Hindu household in India and women across the country start the day by watering it and including it in their daily prayers. Basil grows best in warm, tropical climates. The leaves are light green, silky, about 2.5 inches long and 1 inch wide. 

There are several differnt varieties of Basil. The "Mediterranean" cultivar is typically called sweet basil, has light green leaves as opposed to "Asian basil" (Ocinum sanctum) that has large, hairy stems and stalks with pink flowers, purple or red leaves and has stronger ‘clove’ like flavor. There is also lemon basil, which has "lemon" flavor. Thai basil (O. basilicum 'Horapha') is similar in characteristics to Asian basil but features narrow, pointed, light green color leaves with a sweet licorice aroma. 

Basil leaves contain polyphenolic flavonoids like orientin and vicenin, which have anti-oxidant properties, essential oils such as eugenol, citronellol, linalool, citral, limonene and terpineol, which have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Basil leaves contain exceptionally high levels of beta-carotene, vitamin A, cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are all protective antioxidants that help fight various disease process. In India, basil leaves are often mixed in tea to protect against the common cold, flu, seasonal allergies etc. It imparts an aromatic flavor to the tea. All in all, Basil deserves its title of King among herbs. Basil has a slightly sweet peppery flavor, with a delicate menthol/minty aroma.