I just held my first spring cooking retreat in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and since it was spring, my menu included the crowning glory of all spring vegetables, the “ARTICHOKE”!
Understand that my retreats draw attendees from a wide range of US locations, cultures and food traditions. A common everyday artichoke to someone living in Castroville, California can be an intimidating looking edible for someone from Marshfield, Wisconsin.
Because of this diversity, I love to group cooking ingredients that magically make an artichoke a surprisingly unique dish that promises to please every palate! And I also love to create original recipes for every kind of artichoke craving.
These are the artichoke eating personas that I have encountered over the years:
- The Purists: they love the whole artichoke with just a hint of aromatics.
- The Responders: they respond to the word “artichoke” with a vision of a traditional appetizer dip served at family gatherings.
- The Fanatics: they will eat anything that contains artichokes, even ice cream!
So let’s look at some common and not so common artichoke ingredients that bring to your spring table the many delicious faces of an artichoke:
For the Purists:
Ocean Mist Farms Easy Baked Artichokes are an ideal recipe with simple, pure ingredients for a uncomplicated, yet delicious dish. Ingredients include: Olive oil, white wine or vinegar, lemon juice, chicken broth, garlic & dried herbs.
For the Responders:
Artichoke Hummus uses accessible ingredients such as mayonnaise, salsa, Parmesan cheese, garbanzo beans for a beautiful dinner table presentation.
For the Fanatics:
Castroville Artichoke Cookies are a must-have for the 'artichoke adventurer' who is all about all things artichoke, all the time. Other ingredients for this simple recipe are dry cake mix, instant pudding mix, coconut and butter.
Essential ingredients may vary by artichoke eating personas, but the result is the same… happy taste buds!
Which persona are you?!
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