Garlic and Artichoke Heart Dip

Garlic and Artichoke Heart Dip

I have had a tin of artichoke hearts in the cupboard for ages. Having never remembered to use them and after starting to feel a bit peckish after dinner last night I decided that the pita breads in the bread bin needed something tasty to accompany them.

This is a bit of a throw together but full flavoured.

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic
tin of artichoke hearts
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
2 dried chillies

Method

In a food processor chop the garlic then add the tin of artichokes (drained and rinsed). Mix in the olive oil.
add the chillies (chopped)and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

Serve sprinkled with paprika and dip with warmed pita breads.

Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot Soup

This was a recommendation of my mother. I can guarantee that it wont have been as nice as if she had made it - 80% of people believe their mother is the best cook ever - but it is a really nice soup with an almost frothy texture that makes it good on a texture count, as well as the taste one!

Ingredients

4 large Jerusalem Artichokes
2 sticks of celery
4 large carrots
Large knob of goat's butter
1.5 litres of chicken stock
a bay leaf
2 teaspoons of coriander powder
150ml double cream

Method

Thoroughly wash the veg and chop to medium size chunks (see photo).
Soften the celery in the butter then add the artichoke and carrots, let the pan come back up to heat and then add in the stock and the bay leaf - add salt.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots have softened. Add the coriander powder and then using a stick blender take the soup to a puree. Add the cream to thin out and richen the taste. Personally I like pepper with this.

Jerusalem Artichoke Rosties

The Jerusalem Artichoke is in season. My mum bought a load up from her garden this week and I just love the smokey taste of the little blighters.

The problem is my wife finds them a bit overpowering in flavour so I devised a recipe to try and make them more suitable to her palate.

Ingredients

2 large Jerusalem artichokes
4 new potatoes
1 onion
50g cheddar cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper
chopped chives

Method

grate all the ingredients (except the egg of course - it would be stupid to do that) into bowl and mix together.

Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped chives.

Let stand for 5 minutes then squeeze out as much moisture as you can and discard the liquid.

mix in the egg to help bind the ingredients.

Heat a frying pan with goundnut oil until just short of smoking.

Form a golf ball size of mixture into a pancake shape, first giving it a good squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible.

Fry until golden on both sides.

Three was a good portion for me. I served it with red kale and some bacon ribs glazed in a chilli, tomato and basil mixture that I devised. No doubt the Rostis were a hit, my wife loved them too.