Roasted Artichokes
I was totally surprised at how delicious this recipe is! Well, how delicious Roasted Artichokes, Smashed Red Potatoes and Drunken Pork are!!!
But, more about the potatoes and pork later in this post. Getting back to artichokes. Most people I know enjoy boiling or steam cooking them. I was intrigued when I came across this simple roasted recipe on pinterest. Gotta love pinterest, right?
Selecting Artichokes
I look for artichokes with tightly compressed leaves or with minimal space between them. If the leaves are curled or wide open they’ve likely seen better days. Similar to a flower that’s bloom has faded.
They should feel heavy when you lift and hold them. If they are light, they are usually dried out. You don’t want those.
Give them a squeeze. Listen for a squeaky sound, that indicates freshness.
Don’t worry about a touch of a dark burned look. It’s likely been exposed to a light frost. Plus, stores may reduce the price because they’re less than perfect.
Prepping
Remove the small leaves at the base of the stem. A little tug should easily separate them from the artichoke. Continue working your way up removing all of the small leaves.
I’m not a fan of the stem. I find them stringy with a slight bitter taste. However, there are many people who do not feel as I do. If you enjoy the stem, please skip this step. But, I slice the stem off with a knife.
With kitchen scissors I evenly trim off the ends of the artichoke leaves. This step may seem purely aesthetic but, the ends of the leaves may have little thorns, ouch!
Using a serrated bread knife slice off ¾ to 1 inch off the top of the artichoke.
Rinse the artichokes with cold tap water. I will gently open up the leaves allowing the water to run inside. This is why trimming the torny ends appeals to me.
Place the artichoke top down onto your cutting board. With your serrated knife begin at the heart and slice them in half. Using a small knife, I use my paring knife, carefully remove the hairs and weak leaves near the center of the artichoke. To prevent the leaves from discoloring, brush a little lemon juice over them. Set aside.
Other Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel your garlic and slice off the hard or stem end. I didn’t have a shallot and used a cleaned and sliced small yellow onion instead.
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the prepared and halved artichokes. Using your hands distribute the olive oil thoroughly and season with salt and pepper. I used sea salt and ground pepper. Snuggle a piece of garlic and onion/shallot slices in the cavity near the heart of the artichoke.
Roasting
Tear foil pieces making sure they are sized large enough to wrap completely around the artichoke halves. One at a time, lay a foil piece down and drizzle olive oil onto the foil, place one artichoke half in the center then fold the foil up and pinch the ends of the foil together. Keeping the folded ends facing up, placing them onto a baking sheet.
I placed my baking tray onto the lower oven rack in my oven, roasting them for 40 minutes.
It wasn’t long before the kitchen was filled with the aroma of roasting garlic and onions.
Making the Vinaigrette
While I waited, I quickly prepared the Vinaigrette. Combine the ½ cup chopped fresh dill with ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of honey and salt and pepper to taste. When the artichokes are roasted, carefully open the foil pouches. I used a small knife to slice the foil packets releasing the steam.
Retrieving my small food processor I poured in the wet ingredients. All that remained was adding the roasted garlic and pulsing to a smooth consistency. If substituting onions for the shallots I would slice more than required placing them in a separate foil sealed pouch and roast with the artichoke pouches. Including the onions when blending with the Vinaigrette/garlic mixture in the food processor.
It’s all in the Taste
I was a doubter. Yes, I didn’t believe the required cooking time would fully cook the artichoke, especially the delicious heart. I gave the vinaigrette a stir adding in the capers and some feta cheese. All that was left was to pull an artichoke leaf off, dip and taste.
There was no need to have any doubt, they tasted delicious! I’ll never go back to steaming on the stove or in a pressure cooker! My husband totally agreed!
As I mentioned, this recipe was found on pinterest. Following the link I was taken to The Mediterranean Dishes site and this recipe. Click the link below for this recipe.
Smashed Red Potatoes
On to my next Pinterest find.. Yes, this is also a recipe found on Pinterest. Pairing the Roasted Artichokes, Smashed Red Potatoes & Drunken Pork together works beautifully! I love when recipes are simple, easy and delicious. This is Victoria Townsend from a Dash of Savory’s recipe. Making these potatoes will only include 40 minutes of time, total. Yes, that includes prep and cooking time! It’ll easily cook along with the roasted artichokes.
Ingredients
Ingredients
To prepare this recipe you’ll need baby red potatoes, olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh thyme and rosemary. Be sure to find smoked paprika, it’s important to this recipe. Adding a yummy smoky flavor.
Potatoes
My oven was preheating to 400 degrees F and is 50 degrees F lower than what is recommended. But, I figured It’d work even if it required a slightly longer cooking time. If you recall, that’s the temperature my artichokes required for roasting.
After rinsing and cleaning my potatoes, I placed them into a pot of boiling water seasoned with a good amount of salt. My potatoes boiled for 20 minutes. This is about 5 minutes more than the recipe called for. I wanted to assure they fully cooked in my lower oven temperature. Using a serrated or slotted spoon I removed one potato and gave it the fork test. The fork inserted easily but, not too easily, into my potato and I then drained them and allowed them to cool in my colander.
Preparing for the Smash
I lined my large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Another step I added that isn’t included in the original recipe. I drizzled olive oil onto my cookie sheet and spread it around with my kitchen brush. Next, I placed my potatoes onto the sheet making sure to leave sufficient room for the smash.
Smashing the Potatoes
The potatoes will still have some heat to them and you don’t want to smash them with your hands. Grab a water glass, placing the bottom of the glass onto your first potatoes and gently press down to smash your potato. Repeat this process until all of your potatoes are smashed.
I have to laugh as I think back to my first potato smash, lol. I really gave it a good strong smash. Needless to say, I had some reconstruction work to do on that poor first potato. After that I was a little less enthusiastic when smashing them.
Seasoning
Combine all the wet and dry ingredients together in a measuring cup or small bowl. Be sure to chop the rosemary and thyme. Then liberally brush onto the potatoes. I stirred my mixture each time I dipped into it. It allowed me to evenly spread all the ingredients over the potatoes
Baking or Roasting
I popped these into the oven with my artichokes and baked for 20 – 25 minutes until they were a beautiful golden color and crispy. The artichokes and potatoes were done together with perfect timing. I pulled the artichokes, turned off the oven and left the potatoes in the oven while I finished up the artichoke recipe.
Time to Taste
After I pulled these from the oven I separated a small section from one potato for the taste test.
Oh my, it was tender, slightly crunchy and the flavors were so good! Loved it. These are already on our favorites list! Thank you Victoria Townsend for this great recipe. Please click on the link below for the recipe. Believe me you’re going to be glad you did!
Drunken Pork Tenderloin
One of my dearest friends creates and develops the most delicious recipes. Her name is Jerilyn Zaveral of 3birds and the recipe developer, cook and author of our cookbook, “A Journey Through Wine and Food”. See the photos by following the link below.
Video
After one of our promotional video tutorials she generously shared a fully prepared Drunken Pork Tenderloin with us! She’s not only a great cook but a generous one! You can watch the video by following the link below.
Pairing
Just Perfect! Combining these three recipes together work fabulously. I encourage you to try them together. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the pairing of flavors from the three dishes! Just delicious! Give these recipes a try and let me know what you think in the comments area below.
Recipe
Recipe by Jerilyn Zaveral of 3birds
6 Responses
I am loving this!!! Great idea to have the links to the cookbook too! Beautifully done in every way!
Thank you for visiting and your feedback!
This looks so good, and all my favorite ingredients. And, anything with drunken in the title has to be good, right?
Geoffrey, mine as well. I hope you give the recipes a try and have your latest drink 🍸 with it! Thank you, for your comment.
Excellent plate presentation and photography. I’m sure the food was lovely as well. I’ve never roasted artichokes on my own but I may give it a whirl now.
Mettlefork, thank you!!
I hadn’t roasted a artichoke before, either. It’s a fav now.
Thank you for the lovely compliments on the photography, plating and styling and also, your comment.