Globe Artichoke Salad and our Favourite Roast Chicken.
In the veg box this week I discovered these young globe artichokes. I’ve never actually cooked them before and they were nowhere near as difficult to prepare as I’ve been led to believe.
I used them in a salad with sun-dried tomatoes, feta and a dressing made with some oil from a jar of kalamata olives. I meant to add some of the olives to the salad but as you can see I forgot. We ate it with a roast chicken, self-basted in a rosemary, anchovy and lemon butter. I love the piquancy of this butter with chicken – it’s like adding a salsa verde to a dish, really uplifting.
This is me slipping into spring cooking mode now, salads, light meat and really fresh flavours. We had the intention of making our ultimate chicken pie recipe with the leftover meat, a recipe we came up with around this time last year. It was clear from the start though, that there wouldn’t be leftovers.
The stuffing for this chicken is our favourite, nothing new but something simple and delicious. The butter melts and bastes the chicken, leaving a layer of cheeky goodness betwixt skin and flesh. There is something about roasting a chicken that soothes me even more than cooking normally can. It makes me think of home and of my mum, another great roaster of chickens. Nothing screams Spring to me like butter roasted chicken with a crispy skin. Sometimes in the summer, I like to make four or five salads to go with it, so everyone can dip in. Potatoes with salsa verde are also a must. Then finish with a summer pudding or perhaps a sorbet…….
Globe Artichoke Salad
2 young artichokes
5 sun dried or mi cuit tomatoes, cut into strips
Salad leaves
100g feta cheese, crumbled
A handful of kalamata olives, if you can remember…
A bowl of water with lemon juice in it for keeping your artichokes fresh
For the dressing
1/2 clove garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Black pepper
Twice as much oil as lemon juice (I used oil from a jar of kalamata olives, just substitute regular extra virgin)
Salt
- Prepare the artichokes. Trim the stem of each artichoke to a couple of centimetres and cut a good inch or so off the top (you will likely need to trim them down a bit more later). Peel away the outer layers of leaves until you see the leaves are young – yellow around the base. Cut each in half and scoop out the choke (the furry bits) and discard. Cut into quarters and give them a general trim to remove anything that looks tough and/or spiky.They brown quickly so have a bowl of water with lemon juice to hand if you think you might be slow like I was. Cook them for around 10 minutes or until tender in boiling salted water. You need to make sure they are submerged when cooking – I used a pan lid to weigh them down.
- Drain the artichokes when ready, refresh under cold water and set aside. Mix with the other ingredients and set aside while you make the dressing.
- Crush the garlic with a pinch of salt, then add the lemon juice and lots of black pepper. Add the olive oil and whisk to emulsify. Adjust the quantities as necessary.
- Dress the salad and serve.
Our Favourite Roast Chicken
One plump and gorgeously well-treated chicken
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Zest of 2 large lemons
8-10 anchovy fillets (or less (or more!) to your taste), chopped
A good bushy sprig of rosemary, chopped finely
Small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
75g butter, softened
20g white bread crumbs
Black pepper
Olive oil
Salt
Preheat your oven to Gas 5/190 C/375 F
- Mix all the stuffing ingredients together.
- Ease your fingers between the skin and flesh on the breast of the chicken and stuff the mixture in until you have a nice layer. If you have any remaining butter, smear it on the legs.
- Drizzle some olive oil on top of the breast and rub it around. I believe this helps to get a delicious, crispy skin. Season well all over.
- Roast the chicken until cooked (timings depend on your chicken size. It’s done when you stick a skewer in the thickest part of the leg and the juices run clear), basting a few times. If the skin isn’t crispy just turn the oven up at the end for 10 minutes or so.
- Serve the bird with some of those juicy artichokes.
Category: Main Dishes, Meat, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables 19 comments »
April 1st, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever seen artichokes used in a salad…very original and tempting to try.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Looks yummy! I love how the artichokes are purple inside!
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:01 am
Your artichoke salad looks so refreshing, I’ve never made a salad from them before. I could be wrong on this but from what I’ve read, I think the purple artichokes are easier to prepare because they don’t have the hair in the center. (or is it because they’re young artichokes?) I may have to do a quick research on that- bought myself some artichokes yesterday-debating how I’m going to cook them.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 am
STILL haven’t prepared an artichoke myself. Feel the need to do so coming on…
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Peter – I hope you try it, I’m really glad I did, it was really fun preparing the artichokes.
Jessica – I love the way they are purple too, that’s why I couldnt resist photographing them!
Pixie – These artichokes did still have the hair in the centre so maybe they are purple as they are young? I need to research this too, having only prepared artichokes once. Let me know what you find out though!
Wendy – I know, I had to give in to the need in the end!
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I can’t think of a better meal than roast chicken and artichokes! I usually grill my artichokes, love the idea of making a salad. I saw Mario Batala make a salad with raw artichokes – have you ever done that?
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Simply Gluten-free – Thank you. I love them grilled too. I have seen raw artichokes used in salads too. I researched it a bit and they need to be really young apparently. Mine were young but not quite that young I don’t think. Then again, maybe they were perfect and I just didn’t know it! Such is my limited experience with preparing artichokes………
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Your roasted chicken sounds amazing Helen. I would have never thought to use anchovies! I am so there! I don’t roast chickens often, but the next time I do _ I am going this way!
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:23 am
That salad looks good and I like the use of all those anchovies for the chicken.
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:57 am
We had roasted chicken last night also. I never thought of having an artichoke salad as a side. I love the top photo with the greens and the purples. Beautiful.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Superb Helen, I adore artichokes, really lovely summery recipe, thanks for this!
Cheers
David
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Jenn – I am so glad you are so there!
Kevin – Another anchovy appreciator, I like it! To me, they are the best fishes.
Evil chef mom – Thank you for your comments, I loved the colour of those artichokes too, I just had to take a picture.
David – I really am willing the summer to arrive believe me. Although today is beautiful, I’ve heard it’s turning again at the weekend. Better get baking or something!
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I LOVE the look of that roasted chicken. The skin looks like it would just melt in your mouth.
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I am so jealous! My organic box usually only includes things like carrots and potatoes!
April 6th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I love the chicken idea – anchovies, who would have thought?! And aren’t artichokes the best? My husband would live on them if he could.
April 6th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Anticiplate – that skin does indeed melt in you mouth!
Katerina – Yes, we are lucky to get such variety in the veg box but it does contain carrots and potatoes too.
Jeanne – I love anchovies so much, there isn’t much they don’t get tested with.
April 6th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Helen:
Your artichoke and chicken recipe sounds great and perfect for Spring!
It is barely warming up here in Edmonton and I sauteed my artichokes and used them as a warm side dish for a chicken dish. You might want to check them out!
Cheers!
July 6th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Looks and sounds lovely. Despite the fact that I do NOT like anchovies – at all – I’m tempted to try the chicken recipe. Do the anchovies just subtly flavour, or are they clearly anchovies? Definitely going to try the artichoke salad – I have some baby artichokes on the allotment at the moment. Thanks so much for posting this.
July 6th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Hi caroline – if you don’t like anchovies – just use 5 so they will just be there as a salty seasoning rather than the actual fishy flavour.