Here's a picture I took at Portland's Saturday Market last week. We've been pleasantly surprised to find that artichokes grow rather well here in the Pacific Northwest. We don't recall seeing them much back East, but many of our neighbors grow them (both for the artichokes and, I suspect, as ornamental plants).
I suspect that some raw foodists tend to overlook artichokes because they're so traditionally linked with the image of something steamed, stuffed with breadcrumbs, and drizzled in butter -- so, "cooked," "breaded," and "dairy" all together in one recipe! Being half Italian, I grew up eating them this way. My mother almost never said "artichoke"; she always called them an Italian word that sounded like "ga-GO-che-lee." ?She made them just a few times per year, and they were always a huge treat (and we'd often fight over the hearts -- by far the best part!).
These days, I'll eat a steamed artichoke again, if given a chance. ?(I see them now and again on nicer salad bars, and usually toss a few onto my salad.) But, you can certainly enjoy them raw as well. I recall seeing them on the menu at Borrowed Earth Cafe (a raw restaurant) in Chicago. Kathy and Danny Living (owners of Borrowed Earth) have an insanely delicious spinach and artichoke dip there, which we highly recommend.
While searching for that Italian word (which still eludes me), I happened across a raw artichoke recipe that I thought I'd post here, as well. It's for an Italian Artichoke Salad, on a site called the Daily Dietribe. Looks pretty good to me!
Original Comments
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On July 27, 2011, wrote:
Thanks for linking up to my salad! I hope you enjoy it!
On July 30, 2011, wrote:
Glad to link up, Iris! :-)
On August 14, 2011, wrote:
Cacocciuli (Sicilian)