Marinated Artichokes
Jalapenos are the most popular chile peppers in the US. This is probably due to the availability and versatility of the chile. Jalapenos have a balanced combination of flavor and heat.
The demand for these have caused breeders to develop a broad range of varieties. You can now get jalapenos with various heat level and sizes. These can be used in salsas, stuffed, or eaten straight with cheeseburgers (my personal favorite).
Ingredients:
4 artichokes
piece of lemon
1/4 cup white vinegar
good quality olive oil
10 peppercorns
several sprigs of thyme
1 small jalapeño, sliced
pinch of salt
Instructions:
There are many schools of thought on taking an artichoke apart. I just started tearing into those hard outer leaves with my hands. It felt more savage and appropriate. You can lop the top off with a knife, but I didn’t cut too much off at first, because I preferred to keep more than I needed, rather than cutting too far down and losing tasty edible bits! You can always trim more later.
Once you’ve got the rough, dark green leaves off, it’s time to deal with the stem. Often people will just tear it off and chuck it, but there is a lot of flavor in that stem! Using a peeler, carefully peel the outer skin of the stem and trim off the very bottom.
You can either rub the artichokes with your piece of lemon, or you can place them as you go in a bowl of water with the lemon piece and some lemon juice.
Once your artichokes are all broken down, you can go ahead and trim any excess off the top before slicing into quarters or even eighths. In a pot over medium heat, combine sliced artichoke, vinegar, lemon piece, a few sprigs of thyme, peppercorns, pinch of salt and enough olive oil to just cover the artichokes.
Cover with a lid so that the oil will not splatter and give you a nasty burn. Cook for 10-15 minutes until artichokes are tender.
Let them come to room temperature and transfer to a glass jar. Add your sliced jalapeño. I did not cook the jalapeño with the artichokes, because the heat would have overpowered the flavor of the artichokes. Marinating them with raw jalapeño, on the other hand, imparts a subtle heat that lingers but doesn’t hit you over the head.
Oh! And the great thing about marinating them in oil (as opposed to a vinegar/water mixture) is that you can use the oil in your cooking, so nothing goes to waste. And the flavor it imparts is fantastic!
From tastes-good-to-me.com