Artichoke - "vegetable-flower" known since antiquity. It was eaten in Ancient Greece, served on tables in Ancient Egypt, in Ancient Rome, at the feasts of the nobility, “the food of the rich” - the artichoke - was always present. The Romans knew that it was this vegetable that would help them cope with various disorders of the liver, stomach and intestines - common diseases among those who are not accustomed to deny themselves a huge amount of varied food.
It is necessary
- - artichoke;
- - gloves;
- - wide sharp knife;
- - kitchen scissors;
- - vegetable knife;
- - 1/2 lemon.
Instructions
Step 1
Choose artichokes with juicy, tight-fitting leaves that are firm and firm. By weight, the artichoke should seem heavier to you than you would expect from such a volume. If you squeeze an artichoke in your hands and it squeaks, this is a good sign, then the vegetable is fresh. When the artichoke has a slight brown tint (this is called the "winter kiss", since this color is caused by the frost that "took" it) it is also good - it has become a little sweeter.
Step 2
Only the very bottom goes to food from the whole flower-vegetable - the receptacle together with the fleshy bases of the petals or the tender "middle". Before cleaning and cutting the artichoke, wash it under cold running water. Take care of your hands! The artichoke has unexpectedly sharp edges of the petals and it is better to carry out further manipulations with gloves. Rinse gently between the leaves. Bring your “head” down and shake off the water vigorously. Then wipe dry.
Step 3
Take a sharp wide knife and cut off the top quarter of the "bud". Approximately 3-5 centimeters. An artichoke, upon contact with air, very quickly loses its color. Prepare a wide container of water, squeeze half a lemon into it, and keep the processed vegetables in it. Change the knife to kitchen scissors and cut off those spiked edges of the petals. Cut off the stem at the very base. If you want to stuff your artichokes with something, they are almost ready to stuff. You just have to boil them in boiling water for an hour, remove the purple core and the "hair" underneath, and cook the vegetable following the recipe you have chosen.
Step 4
Continue peeling these vegetables if you want to use the artichokes differently than stuff them. Remove by hand - break off all the "leaves" starting from the outer row. Just grab the petal and pull it down, it will break off immediately.
Step 5
After removing all the fleshy green petals, you have a pale core of delicate inner petals in your hands. Take a vegetable knife and cut, in a circle, the remnants of the hard petals at the very base of the "flower".
Step 6
Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise. Remove purple leaves and "villi". An ice cream spoon is perfect for this task. The artichoke is ready to use.
