How to make 18th-century artichokes while wearing a kilt
Put on your best kilt. If you are a first-time kilt-wearer please see the Kilt Etiquette page in the Links section.
Ok, here's my version of a recipe in the Aanhangzel van de Volmaakte Hollandse Keukenmeid (1761):
Wash the artichokes. Break off the stem, pulling out any tough fibers running from the stem up into the heart. Trim away the small, lowest leaves and make sure the artichoke will stand up on the plate by cutting away any bits of stem that may not have broken off cleanly. Place the prepared artichokes in a pan and add a hot mixture of chicken stock, white wine and a bit of vinegar to nearly cover. Cook them about 35 minutes, they are ready to eat when a knife inserted in the bottom pierces them easily. Remove from the pan and drain, set them aside and cover with a lid to keep them warm. Quickly poach one egg per artichoke in the liquid, and set aside. Reduce the sauce. While the sauce cooks down to concentrate the flavors, open the artichokes and remove the inedible bits as shown in the illustration below. Make a sauce from the by now reduced pan liquid by adding butter, herbs (I used fresh chopped parsley and rosemary) and then take the sour edge off with a bit of sugar. Thicken with bread crumbs. Place an egg on each heart, spoon some sauce over each and bring the artichokes to table. Place the rest of the sauce in a bowl at the center of the table.
High quality chicken stock is important here; and don't forget that when you reduce the sauce it will get both saltier and more sour...go easy on the salt and vinegar!
I thought it was delicious.....
Oh, the egg is not in the original recipe, but I love poached eggs and artichokes!
And here how to serve them, in late 17th-century style:
"To open up the artichokes, stick a fork in the top (as the illustration clearly shows) and push down the biggest leaves all round, so that the artichoke lies like a rose on the plate: then the pointed cap of the artichoke, into which the fork has been stuck, is removed using the knife, and laid on the side of the dish. If some of the hairy choke still sticks to the heart so one removes it and lays it, useless as it is, to the side: one then divides the heart into various pieces, and offers it, as the tastiest treat, to the company. If one 'is Mother', then one places a bit of heart and some large leaves on a clean plate and spoons a bit of sauce over them."
Last update: Tuesday, March 27, 2007