Vegetarian – Page 13 – The Cuban Reuben

For centuries, Jews throughout the Mediterranean have made good use of artichokes. Most notably, in Rome, crisp and lightly fried varieties adorn many a holiday table. I’ve always loved the simplicity and approachable nature of Italian cuisine, so much so that my husband and I partook in a local Tuscan cooking class on our whirlwind honeymoon adventure through Italy. When I returned home, I was thrilled to observe that since the climate and terrain in California are so similar to that in Italy, I am spoiled by the riches in produce we get here that resemble true Italian fare.

Preparing an artichoke for cooking may sound daunting, but can really be done quickly with a sharp knife.

Perhaps it is because I grew up in an image-conscious city, or because healthy eating and cooking is important to me, but I often like finding ways to lighten up a recipe while maintaining great flavor. Lucky for me, I prefer my artichokes grilled, rather than fried. I know that just about everything tastes better fried, but I love the smoky, crisp bite of a charred edge that only a grill can produce.

As featured on The Nosher.

Artichokes kissed from the grill produce char marks with tons of flavor.

Often times, artichokes act as a vehicle for rich, creamy sauces, but with just the right amount of seasoning and the slight kiss of the grill, these babies need no doctoring, and are exceptional on their own. And don’t be too intimidated about preparing and cleaning fresh artichokes. Once you try your hand at the first one, you’ll get the hang of it. Served hot off the grill or at room temperature, grilled artichokes are the perfect accompaniment to any summer meal.

Grilled Artichokes

Author:

TheCubanReuben.com

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 8

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

No need for calorie-heavy sauces or dips. The charred flavor and the tender leaves of these artichokes are fantastic on their own!

Ingredients

2 large whole artichokes
2 lemons, cut in half
1 head of garlic, sliced in half
1 bay leaf
1 tbs Old Bay seasoning
water
Olive oil
Seasoning blend of your choice (I really like Regular and Salt-Free Greek Seasoning)

Instructions

In a large stock pot with the steamer insert removed, add 2 halves of the lemon (1 whole lemon), garlic, bay leaf, and Old Bay seasoning. Fill the pot with water until it just meets the bottom of the steamer insert. Place over medium heat, and let sit.
Meanwhile, to prepare the artichokes for steaming, first cut about an inch off the top of the artichoke. Then, with your hand, peel off the tougher leaves (about 1 layer into the artichoke).
Using a pairing knife, cut off the base of the leaves you just peeled, and continue pairing down the stem until you have a single, uniform layer. Rub the exposed areas with lemon, squeezing the juice from the lemon a bit.
Cut the artichoke in half, and again, run the lemon over the cut sides to keep from browning too much.
Remove the fibrous choke at the center, as well as any colored (purple) leaves. Run the lemon over the exposed cuts.
Slice the halves into quarters, and assemble on the steaming insert of the stock pot.
Cover and let the water simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the artichokes are fork tender.
(You can stop here, and eat them as is, but you'd miss out on the next step!)
Drizzle olive oil and seasoning blend over the steamed artichokes, then place them over high heat on a grill. Grill 1-2 minutes per side.
As the artichokes are already cooked, the goal here is just to get grill marks and the flavor of the char.

They say that opposites attract, and nothing could be more true when it comes to the pairing of me and my husband. He’s a math/science kind of guy, and I’m an artsy fartsy kind of girl. His pulse races at the first note of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and most classical music makes me want to cozy up and take a nap. But I’d say that the biggest characteristic that sets us apart is that I am a big picture type of person, and he takes life one bite at a time.

Maybe it’s his engineering brain, or simply a trait he picked up from his folks, but for the ten years we’ve been together, Kenny has always excelled at taking seemingly overwhelming tasks, and breaking them down to bite-sized, manageable pieces. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to look at that overwhelming big picture, and get paralyzed by the grand scope.

For instance, for the longest time, I resorted to buying pre-cut fruit from the market, because I couldn’t wrap my brain around how to hack at such unwieldy and cumbersome giants like watermelon and pineapple. The task seemed time-consuming, and I envisioned having to use lots of muscle. That is, until my dear husband imparted some wisdom, and encouraged me to learn how to do it myself. In the process, I could even save a bit of cash. It almost always comes down to saving a bit of cash to him.

Since I love to take risks in the kitchen, I thought this might be one worth taking, and I discovered that it is much easier than I ever could have imagined. All you really need is a good, serrated knife, and about five minutes. It doesn’t even take a lot of effort!

First, you take your large, awkwardly shaped piece of fruit, and place it on its side. Slice off the top and bottom sides, and stand the fruit back up on its now level surface.

Using that sharp, serrated knife, slice pieces of the skin off, one at a time, until the rind is completely off.

For pineapple, slice the fruit into skewers, and cut out the core. You could also slice the fruit into rounds, and use a small cookie cutter to cut out the core. I sometimes do that for my younger cooking students, as they like the fun shapes.

That’s it! Simple, right? Let’s try it again, this time with a seedless watermelon.

Cut the top and bottom off, and stand the fruit up, so it is level. Carve off the rind, one slice at a time, then cut the fruit into more manageable bite-sized pieces.

Once I mastered this new skill, I haven’t stopped slicing and dicing my own fruit, instead of taking the more expensive help from the store. And my fruit salads have never been the same.

Take a chance, and try it for yourself. You’ll be surprised at how simple it can really be when you take it step by step, piece by piece.

Category: Vegetarian

Grilled Artichokes

How to cut a pineapple.