Did Someone Say Artichokes? Three Mouth-Watering Recipes

For 56 years, the Monterey Peninsula has come together to celebrate our affinity for California’s state vegetable, the artichoke!

The annual Castroville Artichoke Food and Wine Festival started in 1959 in Castroville, where California’s first artichoke shoots were planted in 1922. Today, nearly 100 percent of America’s artichoke supply comes from California and nearly two-thirds is still grown in Castroville.

This year’s festival will be held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31 with a new concert series featuring country music rising stars and new quirky culinary creations featuring our beloved artichokes!

The concert series will feature 2015 JUNO Award Country Album of the Year winner Dallas Smith, rising star Chris Janson, and acclaimed Canadian duo High Valley. Other bands on the festival bill include Grammy-winning Texas Tornados, and local talent such as Louie and The Lovers, Rio Salinas and Banda S7. Concert tickets are sold separately from festival general admission, and are available at www.artichokefestival.org.

More details on the festival here.

And a big thanks to Castroville-based Ocean Mist Farms, the largest artichoke grower in the U.S. and a long-time supporter of the festival, for these three tasty recipes:

FIRE ROASTED ARTICHOKE WITH TOMATO BALSAMIC CHUTNEY

Chef Tony Baker recommends using large-sized Artichokes, as the size works well for a single serving or a share item. If you have a wood fired grill the flavor is truly amazing when reheating the chokes in the fire.

RECIPE INFORMATION

SERVES: 4

PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES

SOURCE: TONEY BAKER, MONTRIO BISTRO, MONTEREY CA

INGREDIENTS:

4 large Ocean Mist Artichokes, cooked (See Video: How to Cook Artichokes for a variety of cooking methods) ½ medium yellow Onion, chopped ½ bunch Green Onions, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup golden balsamic vinegar ½ teaspoon cumin salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Grilling: Cut cooked artichokes in half place directly on grill. Turn frequently until outside petals are evenly charred. Chutney: Cut tomatoes in half, squeeze to remove seeds. Roughly chop the tomatoes into large dice. Add tomatoes to the rest of the ingredients (not Artichokes) and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve chutney at room temperature over the grilled Artichoke.

________________________________________________________________

ARTICHOKE SOURDOUGH BISQUE

This is a healthy, low fat & delicious soup that is simple to make, and ready in about 40 mins. I’m not using cream or butter just a little olive oil. To thicken the soup instead of using heavy cream, I added 1 1/2 slice of sourdough to thicken the soup.

RECIPE INFORMATION

SERVES: 6

COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES

SOURCE: CHEF TONY BAKER, MONTRIO BISTRO, MONTEREY CA

INGREDIENTS:

4 extra large, rinsed and trimmed, fresh Ocean Mist Artichokes

(See How to Prepare Artichokes for cooking)

1/2 cup virgin olive oil
1 yellow Onion, medium
1 Leek
1 Celery stalk
5 Garlic cloves
1 1/2 slices sourdough bread, roughly chopped
4 sage leaves, fresh
1 sprig fresh thyme
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

HOW TO PREPARE AN ARTICHOKE OLD VERSION

Click here for short “How To” Video Using a sharp serrated knife.

Trim the raw Artichoke down to the heart. Using a spoon, scrape out the fuzzy choke and discard. You can also peel the stem and use that in the soup, since the stem is an extension of the heart. When your Artichokes are clear of fuzz or outside petals, roughly chop the raw heart.

Wash and roughly chop rest of the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large thick-bottomed pot. Sweat (to sauté without color) the Artichokes, Onion, Leek, Garlic, Celery and thyme, until tender. Add the chicken or vegetable liquid stock. Gently simmer the soup for 20 minutes.

Add the roughly chopped sourdough bread and sage. Simmer 3-5 minutes more. In small batches, purée the soup until smooth using either a blender, food processor or immersion blender. Place all of the soup into a cleansaucepan, reheat, and check seasoning. (Use caution when using canned or packaged broth as they can contain a lot of sodium.) Season with fresh ground black pepper. Enjoy!

________________________________________________

RIGATONI WITH FAVA BEANS AND ARTICHOKES

RECIPE INFORMATION

SERVES: 4

SOURCE: OCEAN MIST FARMS

INGREDIENTS:

3 cooked Ocean Mist Artichoke Hearts and stems, cubed

(See Video: How to Cook Artichokes for a variety of cooking methods)

1 cup (5 ounces) blanched shelled Fava Beans

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable broth or water

1 yellow Onion, finely chopped

1 Carrot, finely chopped

1 cup Spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, drained

1 pound rigatoni pasta, cooked

2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
grated parmesan cheese.

DIRECTIONS:

In large frying pan, over medium high heat, warm olive oil. Add Carrot and Onion; cook until tender (about 7 minutes). Add Artichokes, Fava Beans, Spinach, broth, salt and pepper. Cook until heated through. Stir in tomatoes and simmer about 15 minutes. Add cooked, drained rigatoni to sauce and gently toss. Plate and top pasta with shaved parmesan cheese.

_______________________________________________

Tickets for the 2015 Castroville Artichoke Food and Wine Festival are now available for purchase at www.artichokefestival.org. General admission for adults $10; active military, seniors and children (4-12) $5; children 3 and under are FREE. Concert tickets are sold separately from festival general admission and are $25 for Saturday, May 30; $15 forSunday, May 31.

For more information about all of the exciting events in store for the 2015 Castroville Artichoke Food and Wine Festival, visit the festival page at www.artichokefestival.org or follow the festival happenings on Facebook and Twitter @ArtiFest.

--Info and images courtesy of 2015 Castroville Artichoke Food and Wine Festival and Ocean Mist Farms.

Also on Patch:

• Alex’s Lemonade Days - Host A Stand In Your Neighborhood!
• Want To Win A Habit Burger Food Truck Party For 100 Friends?
• Chipotle Shares Its ‘Perfect Guacamole’ Recipe Just In Time For Cinco De Mayo
• Your Travel Specialist: River Cruising On The Danube
• Want To Be Happier? Don’t Fight Stress - Embrace It!