Try fibrous artichokes

Sometimes scientific research is just so amazing, especially when it comes to food and nutrition. I started to do research on artichokes, because my friend Wendy said she associates them with Christmas; and because my friend Ann was cooking them in a particularly wonderful way last week when I stopped by her house (recipe to follow, I promise).It turns out that artichokes are particularly rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants (which also help slow the aging process and ward off Alzheimer’s disease) and are in fact one of the only non-fruits in the top 10 list for edible antioxidants. If you’ve been paying attention to nutrition news, this should come as a complete surprise since all the other edibles in the top 10 list are things that have a very rich exterior color — raspberries, cranberries, blueberries and, coming in at number one, the mysteriously labeled “small red bean.” Who knows what that is?Artichokes, in case you’ve never seen one, are anything but richly colored. Muted would be more the adjective that jumps to mind. Moss-colored, perhaps.Apparently they are the exception to the rule about rich coloring. So, eat artichokes to fight cancer and old age. They are also an excellent diet food, very rich in fiber — but avoid the temptation to dunk each tender leaf into a bowl of melted butter or a mayonnaise-based sauce.You will roll your eyes as I say this but artichokes are actually really delicious even with no sauce at all. However, this is a reality-based health column, so we will skip ahead to discussing sauces. As noted, my friend Ann was cooking artichoke the other day and inspired me. I don’t have her exact recipe and in fact I’m fairly certain that an exact recipe does not exist. She simply trimmed her artichoke and cooked it in a small saucepan, covered with water and olive oil and some herbs.It smelled amazing, she promised that it tastes delicious and, she added, “You can use the cooking liquid as a dipping sauce.”For those of us who like a little guidance in the kitchen, here is a recipe adapted from one I found at the website www.organicauthority.com.Boiled artichokesServes twoTwo artichokes, half of a lemon, 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 of olive oil, 1 small shallot, peeled and minced, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs such as thyme or tarragon, coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.In case you’ve never tried to clean an artichoke before, the first thing you need to know is that the tips are as spiky as rose thorns, so you need to exercise some care. The first thing you want to do is trim off the first couple layers of leaves, which are usually short and hard and not that nice to eat.Then take a sharp, heavy knife and cut off the top of the artichoke, so that you are cutting away all the spiked tips of the remaining leaves. Cut off the stem, if there is one (if you cut away the exterior of the stem and cook it, it’s tasty and creamy, like the artichoke heart).Find a pot that’s big enough to hold your artichokes comfortably, without crowding. Fill it about two thirds of the way with water. Add the butter, oil, lemon juice, shallot and herbs and salt and pepper. Boil the water.Meanwhile, cut your artichokes in quarters lengthwise. Carefully dig out the sharp, light-colored inner leaves and the fuzzy surface that covers the artichoke heart (it’s easier than it sounds and it will be obvious what you need to do when you cut them open).Drop the artichokes carefully into your cooking liquid and let them bubble away, loosely covered. They are done when you can pull a leaf off the heart with a gentle tug; this should take only about 10 minutes. Remove the artichokes (they need to be a little cool before you can eat them) and continue to boil the cooking liquid for a while until it reduces to a state that is flavorful and enticing enough to use as a wet dip. This could take as much as a half hour, so plan your meal accordingly. You’ll probably need to adjust the seasonings a little; you can never have too much lemon juice in an artichoke dip.