been thinking a lot lately about artichokes, and how in 2015 i got to spend some time in sicily. i went to the anna tasca lanza school for a few days during that trip, to attend a cooking course with david tanis.
I started thinking about Sicily because this Sunday we are pouring brand new exciting wines from young California winemakers at Giambotta. You should come!! Email dariogiambotta@gmail.com to make a reservation, anytime from 4 - 8.
The connection to California through Sicily is not just sometimes a similar climate but that I travelled to Italy with Tanis, who is a food writer, cookbook author, and was for a longtime the chef at Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, CA.
the first night we fried panelle, chickpea fritters, in olive oil, following the tradition of Palermo street food vendors. Olive oil has a lower flash point than many other fats and is not usually used for deep frying. Tanis explained how culturally important it was to use olive oil, and how, if you keep careful watch on your heat, it’s safe and delicious. That was the first rule broken for me that trip, one of many to come.
Another day we went to the big fish market in Catania. I’ve never done a cooking tour with a pro like Tanis, and, in this instance, learned why it’s a good thing to try. David knew that one of the many bars lining the square and streets where the fish vendors were would allow you to buy fresh fish and eat it raw while you sat and had a drink. We all had a round of gin tonics and grabbed a few pounds of sweet shrimp. We shelled them and ate them raw. The cold gin and sweet succulent shrimp was amazing. I had just been in Ireland cooking and eating shellfish from very cold waters, and this Mediterranean shrimp was such a vivid contrast that placed me only in Sicily. A bohemian looking man in yellow tinged sunglasses and a shaggy suit stopped on his walk by us, and offered to curate some bites for us. He grabbed an orange from the bar inside, took a chocolate bar out of his pocket and made little spoons with the sweet shrimp, fresh orange juice and a little dark chocolate. He said something like, this taste is of a summer love, a boy and girl who go to the sea and feel it spray on their skin. ! I’m not making this up. The spoonful was strange and tasty.
From the fish market that day we bought what the Catanese call spatula, a long, flat fish, with metallic silver skin (flat and shiny like a spatula). Tanis prepared it that night roasted in a tomato and caper sauce. Again, I had just come from cooking school in Ireland, and my first thought eating this dish was how many bones it had and how difficult it was to eat. The cooking school part is relevant because you are so often thinking about restaurant service, and how a customer would approach a dish. Bony fish in a mess of delicious sauce? I made a remark to my Sicilian neighbor at the table, who said, sometimes it’s good to have to eat things slowly, and carefully. Scuola was in session. I had that ugly American feeling about what I said. But of course Tanis is American, albeit from California, who has travelled and grown in his cooking to know just how to challenge and how to comfort an eater.
And towards the end of the trip we visited a goat dairy, where a family made ricotta. they served us warm fresh ricotta on toast with homemade white wine in little plastic cups like you get at the dentist. The wine was my favorite that I’d tasted all the trip. With respect due to the Tasca winery, where the school is located, the style did not speak to me like this white wine did.
That evening, David was preparing artichokes, peeling off the tough outer leaves for a fritti. What sort of wine would you pair with artichokes? Artichokes are famously hard to pair wine with, they flatten flavors into a bitter base that is not harmonious. Before cooking school I worked in fine dining, and had sommelier training. To me, artichokes are a delicacy, something you don’t have everyday, so I said, vintage champagne. The bubbles might offer some fortitude to the pairing, and something with a little dosage might have a toffee mahogany richness to complement the bitterness of the choke. David did not like this idea. Why would you spend so much on a drink for a food that puts up so much resistance? He said, he would prefer the white wine in little cups from the farm. I was imaging you might be having it by the glass at a michelin restaurant. Like the spatula, with the artichoke I saw how much food and wine experience I located in the restaurant setting. My Mom loves artichokes, and I grew up eating them as a snack with ranch dressing to dip in on sunday evenings before dinner. Wine has certainly never a question, maybe she would be having a glass of Chardonnay, but who knows. But if you like a challenge like bony fish, you should consider artichokes with any of the tannic white wines we have in stock. As Em says, "I kind of like artichokes with tannic white wines bc there is still something left behind through the weird sweet softening effect."
Nichols Farm has some rare Illinois grown artichokes for sale right now. The temptation to try to pair them with the wines on sunday is high. We are still thinking about how - you’ll have to come to try them. For now, here are two of my favorite artichoke recipes. The first entirely on the comforting side, with wines I know I love with them. Artichokes are a key ingredient but the flavors are many, and the marinating dulls their spice. The next is more difficult but extremely delicious and summery.
Mrs Bush’s Pasta
(by my family friend Barbara Bush Bunaes, circa 1995)
serves 6 entree portions
1 pound of pasta with a small shape, like penne, farfalle or orecchiette, cooked to your liking in salted water
olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 pound shelled shrimp
1 jar sundried tomatoes
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
Lots of parmesan cheese to garnish.
Heat two tablespoons olive oil in the biggest skillet or pan you have. Add one clove chopped garlic and sauté until tender. Fry the shrimp, cooking about 2 minutes per side. Turn the heat off and toss in the jars to coat. Add the pasta and toss with some cheese and olive oil. Serve in bowls topped with parmesan.
Delicious with Cantina Giardino Paski, in the store now.
Artichoke Salad
Serves 2
1 large or 2-3 baby artichokes
1/4 lb Parmesan
cup of Olive oil
2 Lemons
Maybe some arugula or greens if you want to serve over a bed of greens
Prepare a bowl of cold water with a squeeze Peel the outer leaves from the artichoke. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, shave thin pieces of artichoke across the base. To keep them from oxidizing as you work, add the artichoke shavings to the water. Make many shavings of parmesan as well. Juice a lemon then slowly pour in olive olive to emulsify into a vinaigrette. Add salt to taste. When ready to serve, dry the artichoke shavings thoroughly, and top with vinaigrette. Add parmesan curls and more vinaigrette to taste.
Try with Matassa Coume d'Olla blanc.
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