Purple Artichokes?

Graham Thomas, a David Austin Rose

The last few days have been just lovely. My Graham Thomas rose has burst into bloom. Yesterday the temperature was in the high 70's; today, however it has dropped about 10 degrees, and tomorrow we are to have a winter storm with another drop in temperature. The Sierras are expecting another 12 inches of snow. I guess that means winter is back ..... again? My plants are so confused they haven't a clue whether it is winter, summer or spring. I am beginning to feel the same.

My onions seem to have given up. I doubt they are going to bulb up this year since, despite all the water they have been getting from these rains, their leaves are starting to brown. But the roses are blooming and the artichokes are bearing, so at least two species have decided it must be Spring. I finally have a little crop of the small Violette artichoke. This purple artichoke is most often eaten raw in the south of France and Italy and even in Paris, now, or so I have heard. Should you be traveling in Italy the last week in April you will find the country side around Rome abounds in artichokes, including purple ones.

I have two varieties of this artichoke. Each is as easy to grow as the Globe artichoke. One is deeply purple and has outrageously long spikes at the end of each petal. The other is less colored and the spikes are not quite as lethal looking. The spikes are longer than those on a Globe artichoke we find in our markets, but nothing like the darker choke. I got each at a different time and had no idea I was buying two different types. There is no difference in taste as far as I can see. As lethal as these look, I never once was poked during the preparation of the salad. Recently a purplish Globe artichoke seed has become available as seed in this country.

My violette artichokes are much smaller than the globe artichoke. The spikey one is very small. Neither of them have much of a choke so when they are sliced lengthwise the entire slice is edible. With no choke I am not sure how they produce a seed, but I did grow some from seed for my previous garden. The growth pattern is about the same as the Globe artichoke, except smaller. The spikey one also has spikey leaves. I had been thinking of getting rid of this one but the fruit is so beautiful I can't quite give it up. If you are considering planting one you might want to think about those spikes, especially if you have small children.

These small purple gems are often braised whole, since there is no choke to worry about, but they are also served raw. If you prepare artichokes at home you will remember that a bitter substance will rub off onto your hands so you might expect that taste to be evident on the raw chokes; for some reason it isn't. They do discolor quickly, as do all artichokes.

Recipe

I have been told that this can be done with the regular Globe artichoke but you must get them very small, so small that they have not yet developed that fuzzy place above the heart, and they must be very fresh. I have not tried that so I have no experience to share.

Raw Artichoke Salad

Make the Dressing First:

Juice of one generous lemon

Oil (your choice) You will need half again as much oil as lemon juice

Tiny dab (1/8 teas) of dijon mustard

About 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt (probably a little more than you might expect)

Whisk together all the ingredients and set aside.

For the Composed Salad You Will Need:

The artichokes

Lettuce for the under layer Green onion Slices

Shavings of Asiago cheese (or Parmesan if you prefer)

Options: For heartier fare you might want to add Italian type deli meats like Bresaola, prosciutto or other preserved meat to this dish and maybe some nice Mediterranean olives.

To Prepare:

Remove the outer petals of each artichoke. After the first round of petals take care to snap the rest just above where you normally find the meat on the petal. This leaves the petal that you have broken off with threads on the bottom portion and the meat on the base of the choke. Continue snapping the petals until you have gotten to the very tender ones. All the violet color may be gone.

Trim off any dark green that remains on the base of the choke. Cut off at least the top third of the tender petals so the remaining piece is all tender pale green. Slice each choke, top to bottom as thinly as possible. If you can shave it with a mandolin, so much the better. Drop the artichoke slices into the dressing.

Line the platter with lettuce leaves. Taste the artichoke for salt, adjust if necessary, then arrange the slices over the lettuce. Sprinkle with green onion slices and then shave the cheese over all. If you are using the meats, or olives, or both, arrange around the edges.

Notes:

The lettuce you see is some of the Four Seasons (dark) I planted last fall and some radish leaves (the green) that have not yet gotten fuzzy or tough. The green onions are not really that. I have been using the scapes (the shoot that comes up to produce seeds on big onions), cut fine in place of any green onions. The scapes are not sharper tasting, but they do have a more intense flavor and they are a little crispy. If I did not have the scapes, I would be using green onions.

The chokes in my garden are plants I purchased from a very small local nursery that occasionally buys from small, even some semi professional, growers. When I grew them in my last garden from seed, I had about a 50 percent mortality ... seed to plant. This is about the same as I have for Alpine strawberries. Some plants are just hard to get going.

If you are interested in experimenting with any of the violet colored artichokes here are some sources you might check.

http://kitchengardenseeds.com/cgi-bin/catview.cgi?_fn=Product&_category=1

http://growitalian.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi

http://johnnyseeds,com/p-7754-tempo-f1.aspx