The Catalan TableArtichokes Casserole with Bread (recipe by Santi Vila - Alkimia restaurant)
Tender artichokes slowly cooked with a light broth of water and onions, accompanied by slices of crispy bread for dipping and savoring each spoonful.
Ingredients
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- 8 artichokes
- 500 mlwater
- 2 onions
- 1 leek
- 100 gItalian dry pasta of small size (elbows, maravella, etc)
- 100 gdry bread
- thyme
- oil
- salt
- minced
- pine nuts
- grated Parmesan
- garlic
- oil
- OPTIONAL
- 1 hard egg /per person (and thus serves as a single dish)
Nutritional Information
Per Serving (Approx.)
Calories
267 kcal
Protein
14 g
Fat
4 g
Carbohydrates
49 g
Disclaimer: These values are estimates based on ingredient types and may not be precise.
Step-by-step Guide
Note
- Preheat the oven to the maximum temperature, around 250 °C, so that it is very hot when you need it.
- Sauté the chopped onion over low heat with a bit of olive oil. Add salt right away to help the onion release its water. Stir gently for about 5 minutes.
- Clean and julienne the leek and add it to the pot with the onion. Let it cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, remove the tougher outer leaves of the artichokes and with a sharp knife, trim them leaving a clean piece of the stem.
- Trim the artichokes by cutting off the tips until a little over halfway of their length and rinse them well with water.
- Place the artichokes in the pot with the vegetables and let them cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the dry Italian pasta, some thyme, and enough water to cover everything (or a broth prepared with the greenest parts of the leek). Let it cook for 12 minutes on medium heat.
- While the pasta cooks, prepare a "picada": grind some pine nuts, grated Parmesan, and garlic until very fine. Once ground, emulsify the mixture with olive oil until you achieve a creamy texture.
- Towards the end of the pasta's cooking time, add some cubes of stale bread to the pot and sprinkle over the picada you have prepared.
- Finally, place the pot to gratinate in the oven with the broiler on maximum power for about 4 minutes. Monitor constantly to ensure the bread reaches a toasted color.
- Let the casserole rest for about 20 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld and reach the ideal temperature.
Optional
- When serving the dish, you can add a hard-boiled egg to each portion: to do this, bring a pot of water to a boil, carefully add the eggs, and cook them for about 10 minutes. Then, cool them in cold water, peel them, and add one to each plate. You can also choose to grate the hard-boiled eggs over the dish before serving to add texture and flavor.
Recommendations & Tricks
- Ensure that you use a heavy-based and ovenproof casserole to guarantee even cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C to make sure it is hot enough when you need to use it.
- Slice the onion finely and sauté it over low heat with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add a bit of salt at the beginning to help it release water and caramelize better.
- Clean the leek well, remove any traces of soil, cut it into fine julienne strips, and add it to the casserole. Let it cook for about 3 minutes until tender.
- While preparing, remove the tougher outer leaves of the artichokes and leave about 2-3 cm of the stem for better handling and presentation.
- Cut off the top part of the artichokes, removing approximately one-third of the upper leaves. This prevents bitter areas.
- Add the artichokes to the casserole and sauté them for 1 minute to absorb flavor.
- Incorporate 100-150 g of small Italian pasta such as ditalini or orzo, a bit of fresh thyme, and 750 ml of water or broth made with the greener parts of the leek.
- Cook everything for 12 minutes until the pasta is cooked al dente and the liquid has slightly reduced.
- Prepare a traditional pesto by grinding 30 g of pine nuts, 30 g of grated Parmesan, and 1 or 2 garlic cloves. Once you have a homogeneous paste, emulsify it with 4 tablespoons of olive oil until achieving a creamy texture.