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baby artichokes
If you are lucky enough to find baby artichokes in your farmer's market or grocery, snap them up. After the mini-chokes have been properly trimmed they can be eaten whole, just like the ones out of the can. These are much more delicate and flavorful then the canned versions.

Add these little babies to any dish calling for artichoke hearts; chicken dishes, pastas, or pizzas all benefit from the fresh hearts. Or sauté them up and serve with a good crusty bread and a chunk of brie.

To trim the baby artichokes:
There is an additional step to preparing baby artichokes. These are actually immature artichokes, so the choke isn't developed and therefore, doesn't need to be removed.

Trim the end and top 1/4 of the artichoke. Then snap off the outer layer of leaves until you see only the pale lemony yellow/greenish inner leaves. Half or quarter each artichoke depending on its size.

sautéed baby artichokes
2 cups of trimmed baby artichokes, halved or quartered
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons or more of chopped garlic
¼ cup chopped pancetta
½ cup water
¼ cream sherry

Add sherry to the pan; with a flat spatula scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the browned bits of garlic and pancetta. The dish is finished when the liquid has evaporated so that only about half the original volume is left. Transfer the cooked artichokes into a bowl and enjoy with a fresh baguette, or pour over chicken or pasta.

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Joanna Piatek spends her days teaching ESL and her evenings enjoying springtime. She can be contacted at jopiatek@hotmail.com.

more articles by Joanna Piatek :
farmer jo: asparagus | ginger | apples | tomatoes | zucchini | string beans | a personal passover 

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