Globe Artichokes with Vinaigrette and Crusty Bread

Artichokes & Vinaigrette

This is just a quick and easy recipe, but I love it because of how simple is is, and because of how delicious artichokes are! This makes a great starter at a dinner party, or a good snack if you’re feeling a little luxurious. This is a recipe that dates back to when I was little – I remember eating artichokes dipped in balsamic vinegar and thinking it delicious, and also great fun, as artichokes are very much a finger food – especially when you get to the heart and have to rip off all the funny little hairs in order to get to the good bit!

Some people spend forever preparing their artichokes but I personally don’t see the point – it takes too much time, and is unnecessary as there are always going to be bits that you won’t eat, regardless of whether or not you chop off the tips of the leaves before cooking.

I have opted to serve these with crusty white bread, as this can be used to mop any excess oil and vinegar, but it is up to you whether you do the same!

Ingredients (serves 2) 

2 large globe artichokes

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 bay leaves

1/4 of a lemon

100ml balsamic vinegar

100ml olive oil

Salt and pepper to season

Crusty white bread to serve

Method

Place a large pan of water on the hob, with the garlic cloves, lemon, bay leaves and a dash of salt, and leave until it comes up to the boil.

Meanwhile, try and give your artichokes a good rinse. I realise this is tricky because they are very tightly put together, but if you can get into all the nooks and crannies then that’s great. Once washed, chop the ends of the stalks off – these are the most bitter and dry part, so not worth eating!

Once the water is boiling, pop the artichokes into the water, cover with a lid and turn to a low heat so the water continues to simmer. Leave these to cook for around half an hour – or until the outer leaves come away easily. The bigger the artichoke the longer it will take to cook!

Whilst the artichokes are cooking, mix together your balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Once this is done, why not have a gander at this article about street artist ATM and his recent ‘graffiti’ that has been appearing in London. ATM has created a series of beautiful paintings of Britain’s endangered birds on buildings around the capital city. The result is wonderful, and much better than most of the other street art you will have seen. I for one shall be keeping an eye out for these lovely feathered friends when I head to London next week. These paintings also act as a timely wake up call to the fact we need to stop messing around with the environment, and start acting to prevent climate change, and the extinction of various species of animals and birds.

Once the artichokes are cooked, drain the water and dig in. Pull away the individual leaves and dip the bottom of them in the vinaigrette, then eat the little fleshy bit at the bottom of each leaf. Once you have peeled away and eaten all the leaves (which takes a while – although some of the very inner leaves won’t have any fleshy stuff to eat so can be discarded quickly) you will get to the heart of the artichoke. This is the most delicious part! With a sharp knife, carefully cut away all the hairy stuff and the end of the stalk, until you are left with the smooth green heart. Give this a good soaking in the vinaigrette and enjoy!

 

Rainbow Trout Pasta

Rainbow Trout Pasta

Firstly, I must apologise for my absenteeism. Turns out that third year at university is pretty hard work, and takes over your entire life for weeks at a time, subsuming any non-dissertation related activity that you might fancy doing. Luckily, my dissertation is now done and dusted with, so I am free to return to writing about delicious food, rather than witchcraft in Papua New Guinea, which is quite a relief I must say. I need to make the most of it given that I have another 11,000 words to write in the next few weeks which may result in my disappearance from the blogosphere once again!

This recipe is a very quick and easy, but still delicious, midweek meal. It takes only 15 minutes to throw together, and can be adapted to fit whatever it is you have in your fridge and cupboard. I have used rainbow trout as it is a more affordable option than salmon, but you could use salmon if you are more monied than me. I am often wary that since giving up meat I might not be getting all the right nutrients, or enough of them, so I think it is good to throw in some fish every now and again – especially if it is sustainably sourced.

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small red onion

2 cloves of garlic

150g chestnut mushrooms

1 fillet rainbow trout, de-skinned and de-boned

225g pasta

Handful of frozen peas

Salt and pepper to season

Method

Set a pan of salted water to boil on the hob, cover and leave until boiling. In the meantime, finely slice your garlic, mushrooms and onion. Hopefully, your fishmonger will have filleted and de-boned your fish, but if not the easiest way to get the bones out is with a pair of tweezers under a bright light! As you will see from the photo, our fishmonger did a rubbish job so my boyfriend took on the tweezering! Once you have de-boned the fish, you can gently peel the skin off the back, making sure not to take any of the flesh with it. Once de-boned and de-skinned, finely slice the fish fillet.

Matt and the tweezers

Place a frying pan with 2 tbsp vegetable oil on the hob, and once hot, add the onion. Fry the onion until transparent and soft on a low heat (this will take about 5 minutes). After the onion has been frying for 5 minutes, add the pasta to the boiling water and leave to cook for approximately ten minutes or until al dente.

In the meantime, once the onion is soft, add the garlic, mushrooms and fish to the frying pan and fry for a further 7-9 minutes. Once the fish is cooked, and the mushrooms are softened, pour the cream into the pan and turn to a very low heat (you don’t want the cream to curdle or separate). Season with salt and pepper.

Approximately 1-2 minutes before the pasta is ready, add the frozen peas to the boiling water so they get a chance to defrost. After a couple of minutes, take the pasta and peas off the heat and drain. Take the sauce off the heat, and stir the pasta through the sauce. Season to your preference, and then tuck in!

This is a very speedy recipe so there isn’t really any point at which I could give you something to do, but if you fancy it whilst you’re eating, or simply at any other time when you’ve got a moment to spare, have a look at bloodandchampagne. It is a photographic blog, of beautiful interiors and houses of a minimalist, industrial and scandinavian ilk. The photos, and their contents are inspiring; now my dissertation is finished, I intend to while away many an hour gazing at them, and dreaming that perhaps one day my home will look something vaguely like this. Perhaps yours already does, or perhaps this will give you some ideas if you are bored of where you’re sat whilst you read this!