Artichoke Dip
Writing about California cooking usually starts with Cioppino and sourdough and then straightlines to wine country, and thain’t nothin’ wrong with either of those, but the cooking of this state is as varied as the regions it comes from. Any cuisine has to do with obtaining and preparing whatever is available closeby, but because California is so geographically and culturally diverse, it encompasses a broad range of ingredients, and it is a cuisine where ingredients are often influences. You can read more about California cooking here.
Canned and frozen artichoke hearts made cooking with artichokes more attractive because it made it more attractive to serve chokes at the American table. A canned or frozen choke eliminated the need for fortitude that the traditional steamed choke demands and that many American diners flat out don’t have the patience for. This advance was good for cooks, eaters, farmers, and cuisines both California and American. The delicate, sophisticated flavor and chewy texture of artichokes made them desirable ingredients in antipasti, side dishes, and light supper fare such as grilled pizza and pasta tosses. In the next column, we will use artichokes as a key ingredient in a show-stopping Weeknight Dinner. But for this column, we will introduce artichokes with respect to how they are so often introduced at the American table: as an appetizer.
Artichoke dip is California’s contribution to that uniquely American category of party foods: the warm, gooey party dip. The grandparent of these dishes is fondue, which has its own place at the American table but is nonetheless an import. Something about hot dips brings out the regionalist in whoever is making them, from Virginia warm crab dip to a Texas seven-layer. Of them all, my favorite has always been warm artichoke dip, and my original recipe for it, rooted in the aesthetics of California cooking, is below. It is slightly labor intensive as a recipe starring artichokes and redolent of retro sixties home style should be, but it isn’t really that much work, and the results – like the demands of the artichoke itself – are worth it. Since we’re cooking California style, serve this dip with crudité, a fresh loaf of sourdough, and an approachable, relaxing California Chardonnay such as Firestone or Mark West.
Warm Artichoke Dip
At the LA County Fair last Labor Day, one thing that struck me was the range of agriculture in the state. We all know about wine grapes and strawberries, but California farms are fundamental to the American table in every way from salad greens to garlic, from watermelon to honey. Among all of those fruits and veggies, one herb that stands literally with its head held higher than most is a strangely beautiful, slightly cantankerous member of the thistle family: the artichoke.
As with arugula, it is ironic that artichokes play so notable a role in California cooking, because while in the pantheon of the American table California cooking is actually something of a newbie even though an influential one, both of those cultivars are among the earliest recorded foods. Artichokes were a staple of early Mediterranean diets in the form of the wild plant the cardoon, from which the cultivated artichoke derives. In addition to food, the cardoon was used medicinally to support heart, liver, bladder and bowel function. In this office, cardoon was served as a an infusion, which may account for its migration as a flavoring in Cynar, one of that group of liqueurs identified as apertifs for their relation to medicinal preparations. You will find Cynar flavoring your Cyn-Cyn, the artichoke-based corruption of one of the house cocktails in our urban homes: the Negroni.
To grow artichokes requires both patience and the ability to replicate their Mediterranean environment: nourished soil with good drainage, a lot of sunshine, and protection from frost. This goes far in explaining why California accounts for almost the entire American artichoke harvest. In fact, the Artichoke Capital of the World is located in Monterey county, where the Castroville Artichoke Festival attracts thousands of attendees annually, each one dedicating the weekend to this herb that manages to be prickly and delicate at once.
Growing all of these artichokes means someone’s got to eat them, so lucky for us that artichokes have a delicate flavor and chewy quality that takes well to both its native Mediterranean cuisine and to the gourmet light touch of California cooking. The traditional way to cook artichoke is steamed or baked in wine or water. The steamed or baked ‘choke is served whole. The diner saws off each leaf and extracts the edible delicacy within, which is then dipped in drawn butter, aioli, or reduced balsamic vinegar. If they make it this far, they are rewarded by being allowed to excavate the heart of the choke from its spiny fretwork, and then they get to dip that in sauce and eat it too.
As with arugula, it is ironic that artichokes play so notable a role in California cooking, because while in the pantheon of the American table California cooking is actually something of a newbie even though an influential one, both of those cultivars are among the earliest recorded foods. Artichokes were a staple of early Mediterranean diets in the form of the wild plant the cardoon, from which the cultivated artichoke derives. In addition to food, the cardoon was used medicinally to support heart, liver, bladder and bowel function. In this office, cardoon was served as a an infusion, which may account for its migration as a flavoring in Cynar, one of that group of liqueurs identified as apertifs for their relation to medicinal preparations. You will find Cynar flavoring your Cyn-Cyn, the artichoke-based corruption of one of the house cocktails in our urban homes: the Negroni.
To grow artichokes requires both patience and the ability to replicate their Mediterranean environment: nourished soil with good drainage, a lot of sunshine, and protection from frost. This goes far in explaining why California accounts for almost the entire American artichoke harvest. In fact, the Artichoke Capital of the World is located in Monterey county, where the Castroville Artichoke Festival attracts thousands of attendees annually, each one dedicating the weekend to this herb that manages to be prickly and delicate at once.
Growing all of these artichokes means someone’s got to eat them, so lucky for us that artichokes have a delicate flavor and chewy quality that takes well to both its native Mediterranean cuisine and to the gourmet light touch of California cooking. The traditional way to cook artichoke is steamed or baked in wine or water. The steamed or baked ‘choke is served whole. The diner saws off each leaf and extracts the edible delicacy within, which is then dipped in drawn butter, aioli, or reduced balsamic vinegar. If they make it this far, they are rewarded by being allowed to excavate the heart of the choke from its spiny fretwork, and then they get to dip that in sauce and eat it too.
Canned and frozen artichoke hearts made cooking with artichokes more attractive because it made it more attractive to serve chokes at the American table. A canned or frozen choke eliminated the need for fortitude that the traditional steamed choke demands and that many American diners flat out don’t have the patience for. This advance was good for cooks, eaters, farmers, and cuisines both California and American. The delicate, sophisticated flavor and chewy texture of artichokes made them desirable ingredients in antipasti, side dishes, and light supper fare such as grilled pizza and pasta tosses. In the next column, we will use artichokes as a key ingredient in a show-stopping Weeknight Dinner. But for this column, we will introduce artichokes with respect to how they are so often introduced at the American table: as an appetizer.
Artichoke dip is California’s contribution to that uniquely American category of party foods: the warm, gooey party dip. The grandparent of these dishes is fondue, which has its own place at the American table but is nonetheless an import. Something about hot dips brings out the regionalist in whoever is making them, from Virginia warm crab dip to a Texas seven-layer. Of them all, my favorite has always been warm artichoke dip, and my original recipe for it, rooted in the aesthetics of California cooking, is below. It is slightly labor intensive as a recipe starring artichokes and redolent of retro sixties home style should be, but it isn’t really that much work, and the results – like the demands of the artichoke itself – are worth it. Since we’re cooking California style, serve this dip with crudité, a fresh loaf of sourdough, and an approachable, relaxing California Chardonnay such as Firestone or Mark West.
Warm Artichoke Dip
You should be able to find artichokes in the canned, frozen and Italian specialty sections of most grocery stores. Look for artichokes canned in water (the label will say so), but if you can’t find them, buy frozen artichokes and defrost them before using. Jarred artichokes brined for antipasto will not work for this recipe. Oven-safe serving dishes are widely available in home stores; in our urban home, we use vintage Pyrex.
2 14-ounce cans artichoke hearts, preferably in water
2 14-ounce cans artichoke hearts, preferably in water
1 bunch fresh spinach
3 medium cloves garlic
1 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 medium wedge fresh Parmesan
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon hot paprika
1. Use a sharp knife to remove and discard the gritty roots from the spinach.
1. Use a sharp knife to remove and discard the gritty roots from the spinach.
2. Place the trimmed spinach in a colander. Rinse the spinach under cool water until the spinach displays no grit or dirt and the water runs clean. Leave the colander in the sink to drain.
3. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F or the WARM setting.
4. Use a sharp knife to remove the rind from the Parmesan. Place the rind in a zippered plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for another usage.
5. Place a box grater over a large plate or swath of waxed paper. Use the medium holes on the box grater to carefully grate the cheese over the plate/paper. Keep a measuring cup nearby and measure out the cheese as you go; you will need 1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan.
6. Measure the mayonnaise into a large mixing bowl. Season the mayonnaise with the paprika and several grindings fresh black pepper.
7. Measure the vinegar into the seasoned mayonnaise. Use a wire whisk to thoroughly mix the mayonnaise with its seasonings.
8. Measure the grated Parmesan into the seasoned mayonnaise. Use the whisk to thoroughly incorporate the cheese into the mayonnaise, stopping occasionally to shake the whisk over the mixture.
9. Plug in and assemble the blender or food processor.
10. Give the colander containing the spinach a good shake in order to express whatever water remains with the greens.
11. Turn the blender/food processor to the chop setting. Feed the spinach into the machine to roughly chop it.
12. Once you have chopped all of the greens, return the colander to the sink. Open the cans of artichokes and empty the artichokes into the colander to drain while you prepare the spinach.
13. Place a sauté pan or skillet on a burner. Heat the burner to medium. Drizzle the pan with a four-count of extra virgin olive oil.
14. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Use a garlic press to press the garlic halves into the heating oil.
15. Use a silicon spatula to move the garlic in the hot oil until the garlic is soft and begins to release its fragrance; typically less than one minute.
16. Add the chopped spinach to the oil and garlic. Sprinkle the spinach with salt. Quickly sauté the greens, moving them aggressively around the pan, until they are wilted; typically about two minutes.
17. Turn off the burner and safely move the pan containing the sautéed greens away from the heat.
18. Rinse and dry the blender/food processor housing. Once all of the pieces are dry, reassemble the unit.
19. Give the colander containing the artichokes a good shake in order to express whatever water remains with the artichokes.
20. Turn the blender/food processor to the chop setting. Feed the drained artichokes into the blender/food processor to roughly chop them. It is okay if some of the pieces of artichoke are fibrous; the machine will break those down.
21. Add the chopped artichoke to the mayonnaise mixture, using the spatula to get all of the chopped artichokes from the bowl of the blender/food processor and to thoroughly mix the artichokes into the dip.
22. Use the spatula to gently mix the sautéed spinach into the dip.
23. Use the spatula to transfer the dip into an oven-safe serving dish, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl to get all of the dip into the serving dish.
24. Place the serving dish containing the artichoke dip into the oven. Keep warm until ready to serve.
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