Artichokes are essentially thistles. This(tle) is what's always fascinated me about them, or rather, what fascinates me about human beings and their culinary wiliness. Perhaps this needs some explaining. See, unlike the lettuces and the cabbages and, really, most of the other vegetables, and even the more defensive nuts, the artichoke plant doesn't hoist up the artichoke heart atop a stem, ready to cook, serve and eat. It socks it away beneath a treacherous, multi-foliate sheath of armor. One with spikes! Looking at an artichoke from the outside, keeping in mind that the part of the plant we eat is the heart of the unopened flower, well, the little gem of the heart is buried under a lot of prickly labor. I know that starving animals will go to great lengths to get some food, but I can't imagine that the "discovery" of the artichoke heart was the result of man's famished quest for sustenance. Rather, I think it's our weird culinary bent that brought us here. Anyway, enough rambling. Here are some pictures.
Instead of doing the writing myself, I decided to photograph some of my books. First, the textbook from the Culinary Institute of America (sixth edition) and second, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1.
A recipe for artichoke souffle
or, one from Julia and Simone...
In any case, it seems that artichokes are often paired with cheeses or butter sauces.
