November 01, 2019
As much as I love asparagus and can’t wait for those heads to pop out of the ground almost teasingly as they seem to come up in relays; never enough for a full serve each night so much so, that we often eat them raw as we break them off in our impatience! So sweet without any cooking at all but I can’t wait till the whole bed comes into full production all at the same time.
Having said that, what is the most exciting ingredient in my garden right now are the artichokes; I have 3 plants in my home garden and 4 plants at the farm. As they are all almost due for picking and we’re about to go away for 2 weeks I devised a plan so I wouldn’t miss out! I pulled together my Farmshop team and showed them just the size to pick them so I can delight in them on my return.
More than that I’ve asked them to cut the normal top off and drizzle with a little EVOO and verjuice just to stop discolouration and then steam them in my Miele oven for 10-15 minutes dependant on size; chill them down and then cryovac. I’m being very selfish about this, but it means an absolute artichoke feast when I come back with most of the work done!
My idea is that I will strip off the harder outside leaves, finish cooking simmering in some EVOO and verjuice; make a bit pot of mayonnaise and ask some friends around. Given our two weeks holiday means I’m going to miss that first flush of roses through the garden; can’t miss out on everything can I!?
