The market · Vegetables · Southern Europe, France and the north-west
Cardoons
A thistle related to the artichoke, grown for its broad, silvery stalks — which taste of artichoke heart once they've lost their bitterness in the pot.
artichoke-like · bitter · nutty
Kinds
- Cardo gobbo
- Piedmont's 'hunchback' cardoon, bent over and blanched under earth; tender enough to eat raw with bagna càuda.
- Common cardoon
- Needs stringing and long cooking.
If you can't find it
Rare outside southern Europe in winter.
- Artichoke hearts, or celery for crunchYou lose the bitter, artichoke-and-celery middle.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- French, Italian and Spanish greengrocers in winter: firm, pale stalks without brown streaks.
- Worth knowing
- Strip the strings with a peeler and drop the pieces into water with lemon as you go — they brown fast. Simmer in a blanc (water whisked with a spoon of flour and lemon juice) until tender, 30 minutes or more, before gratinating with bone marrow or cream.
