By Pat Tanner, Special Writer
Unless you grew up in France or in an Italian-American household, you probably aren’t familiar with cardoon, the thistle-like plant in the artichoke family. But instead of an edible bud, like artichoke, what the French, Italians, and even North Africans covet are cardoon’s center ribs, which have been described as looking like celery on steroids. With its artichoke-like flavor and pleasant bitterness, cardoon captivated me as a child when my father would bring some home from who knows where and cook up a mess for me and my six siblings.
Not one of us thought to write down his recipe for what we pronounced, in typical Italian-American dialect, as “gardoon.” In one sister’s memory, Dad incorporated them into an omelet; in mine, the stalks were breaded and fried. When I learned that Double Brook Farm in Hopewell was offering cardoon as part of their October sales days, I was determined to experiment.
Chris Turse, the farm’s supervisory horticulturist (clearly this is not your run-of-the-mill farm), had grown the “Porto spineless” variety which, he writes in an email, “is hardy here in zone 6. While it is mainly grown for culinary purposes, it also produces a beautiful flower that can be used for flower arranging.” He added that gardeners can find seeds for growing Porto spineless at johnnyseeds.com. The gorgeous gray-green plants can grow up to 4 feet.
Long story short: I breaded and fried the stalks and, in one of those extremely rare occurrences, successfully recreated a beloved taste memory from childhood. Not that it was easy, mind you. Working with cardoon (also called cardone and cardi) takes some doing. First, you cut off the leaves and spikes. Like artichokes, the stems discolor quickly, so they must immediately be soaked in acidulated water. Then you boil them until tender. Sometimes the stalk has tough strings (again, like celery) that must be removed before or after boiling. (The Double Brook cardoon did not.)
Cardoon was beloved by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and brought to the New World by Quakers in the 1790s. It can sometimes be found in farmers markets from mid-winter to early spring. Some supermarkets, like Wegmans, carry it around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Double Brook will continue to offer cardoon in the coming months, including November.
The recipe below for the fried, breaded cardoon of my childhood is an amalgam of fuzzy memories and one found at foodandwine.com. Many cardoon recipes call for adding lemon to the soaking water. I used vinegar because that’s what my father would have used. For frying I combined equal parts everyday-quality olive oil and canola oil — about half a cup total. The cardoon gratin is based on a recipe of Jean-Georges Vongerichten for braised endive which, like cardoon, has a pleasantly bitter edge. Brussels sprouts would work, too. There’s a recipe on seriouseats.com that combines both crisp-fried and creamy cardoon, although that seems like overkill. Both recipes below start with the same method of stripping, cutting, soaking, and boiling the cardoon.
BREADED FRIED CARDOON
2 quarts cold water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 head cardoon (about 3 pounds, yielding about 1 pound of stalk)
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 cup good-quality dry breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil (not extra-virgin)
Vegetable oil
In a large bowl mix together the cold water and vinegar. Remove and discard the tough, outer stalks of the cardoon. Separate the remaining stalks. Using a sharp knife, slice along the edges of each stalk to remove the leaves and any spikes. Cut and discard any tough, hard bottoms. Cut each stalk crosswise into 4-inch lengths, and cut any extra-wide stalks in half lengthwise. Drop the pieces as they are cut into the water-vinegar mixture to prevent discoloration.
Meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt (as you would for pasta) and the cardoon and cook until tender, at least 15 minutes and as long as 30 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
In a shallow bowl whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, and tablespoon of water. In another shallow bowl combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, and salt and pepper.
Dip the cardoon first in the egg mixture then the breadcrumb mixture, coating well. Arrange the cardoon strips on a tray lined with wax paper.
In a 10-inch skillet, add equal amounts of olive oil and vegetable oil to reach 1-2 inch. Heat over moderately high heat. When the oil is very hot, add 6 to 8 pieces of cardoon and fry until golden and crisp — about 1½ minutes per side. Transfer the cardoon to a plate and sprinkle with salt if desired. Cook remaining cardoon in the same manner.
Serves four.
CARDOON AND HAM GRATIN
2 quarts cold water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 head cardoon (about 3 pounds, yielding about 1 pound of stalk)
For the béchamel:
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups whole milk
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
Salt & pepper to taste
4 ounces ham, diced
8 ounces Gruyere, shredded (about 1-2/3 cups)
¼ cup dry breadcrumbs
In a large bowl mix together the cold water and vinegar. Remove and discard the tough, outer stalks of the cardoon. Separate the remaining stalks. Using a sharp knife, slice along the edges of each stalk to remove the leaves and any spikes. Cut and discard any tough, hard bottoms. Cut each stalk crosswise into 4-inch lengths, and cut any extra-wide stalks in half lengthwise. Drop the pieces as they are cut into the water-vinegar mixture to prevent discoloration.
Meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt (as you would for pasta) and the cardoon and cook until tender, at least 15 minutes and as long as 30 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Cut the boiled cardoon into 2-inch pieces.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a gratin or oven-proof baking dish that will hold the cardoon pieces snugly (e.g., a 10-inch deep pie pan), and arrange the cardoon so that there are no spaces between them. Sprinkle the diced ham over the cardoon.
Make the béchamel: melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, two minutes. Continue whisking and add the milk in a slow, steady stream. Allow the mixture to come to a boil while whisking, and continue whisking until thickened, from 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the nutmeg and salt and pepper.
Pour the béchamel evenly over the cardoon and ham. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top, then the breadcrumbs over that. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden. If desired, run under a broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to brown top. Serve immediately.
Serves four.
Pat Tanner blogs at www.dinewithpat.com

