Pic 1: cardoon growing , Pic 2 harvested and lying on my kitchen table, Pic 3 Leaves and flowers removed and getting the woody strings off (put the stems in water with lemons squeezed in), Pic 4 boiling the cardoons with lemons

I harvested my first cardoon a few weeks ago my second cardoon yesterday.  The first one was made in to a successful dish, but the second was a disaster, fairly bitter and very stringy even though I spent the better part of the morning peeling the stalks and boiling them. Boiling for an hour tenderises the stalks and draws out the bitterness, but in this case it was not quite successful. As you can see from the pictures, a lot of work goes into preparing the cardoon before one can make up the dish for the table. I covered the boiled and cleaned cardoon in bechamel and sprinkled cheese and bread crumbles over the top then baked it in the oven until bubbly and crispy on top.  The taste was OK and the sauce and topping terrific but no one was very impressed and No second helpings! Someone wrote that one can only expect a good harvest after the 3rd year, saying that their cardoon grows to 2 meters high. Mine were planted this year and were about 1 and n half meter high when I cut them down. The first plant has regrown. We did boil the small buds like we do with artichokes and ate the soft parts of the leaves and the hearts and that was very nice.

I have to think about this vegetable and research it more – I am determined to make a successful dish when I harvest the third plant. Advice anyone ?

The zucchini are growing fast and we have had quite a few this week. I like them small, about 10 cm long for this dish which can be a side, main meal with fresh bread, or a great vegetarian pasta sauce.

Zucchini, Garlic, Tomato and Onion 

4 small zucchini

1 large onion

1 large fresh tomato

3 cloves of garlic

4 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and Pepepr

Use a pan that can hold all the ingredients and heat the olive oil. Gently fry the onion until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic, zucchini and onion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook over gentle heat until the oil separates from the rest of the sauce. This is one of the first dishes I recall from my childhood, with all the ingredients harvested from the garden. 

Above is the cardoon, complete with ‘ Cardoon Goblin’, in my garden before harvesting.

I could not decide when to pick my cardoon, but following wide consultations, decided to pick it today. I have 2 more mature plants growing so I could have afforded to experiment.

The harvested cardoon on my kitchen table – looking huge!

After cleaning and cooking the cardoon I decided that it was picked too early as the thicker stems, though hard and tough looking, were soft and tasty when cooked. If I left it to grow more there may have been more of the thicker stems, resulting in more to eat.

You need lots of time for a cardoon dish and I did not time myself but it took about half an hour from start to finish in preparation plus cooking time. There are many recipes to choose from and I went for the anchovie sauce which was a great success and enjoyed by four adults, who had it as a side to the main, in no time at all!

Cardoon with Anchovie Sauce 

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees C

1 large cardoon, leaves and stringy bits removed, sliced in 50 mm pieces kept in a bowl of water with the juice of a lemon mixed in. This prevents discoloring.

1 clove garlic, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

10 anchovies – the salty preserved kind, drained and chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Cook the cardoon pieces for about 30 minutes until  tender. In the mean time butter an oven proof dish that will hold all of the cardoon pieces. Melt the rest of the butter in a pan and add the anchovies and garlic and stir gently until the anchovies dissolve. Put the cardoon into the prepared dish, pour the anchovie sauce over and sprinkle with the Parmigiano cheese. Now bake it in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.