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It is true that lightly cooked artichokes can make a good wine taste odd, but in this case, the combination is a very happy one as they are thoroughly cooked. Prepare these savory artichokes the day before you plan to serve them, and refrigerate the cooked bases overnight, covered with their sauce.
Serves 6
1 lemon, cut in half
6 large artichokes
4 tablespoons Jordan Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 head garlic, unpeeled, roots cut off
1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/4 bunch thyme
1/4 bunch marjoram
1/4 bunch parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Jordan Chardonnay
1-2 cups water
Salt
Squeeze lemon into a bowl filled with cold water. Pull all the outer leaves from each artichoke and cut off the stalk. Chop off the pale green inner leaves 1 inch above the base, and trim around the base with a sharp knife. Immediately drop each trimmed artichoke "cup" into bowl of acidulated water (water and lemon juice).
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and saut until they begin to brown, 5 minutes. Add garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme, marjoram, and parsley. Reduce heat and add tomato paste. Cook slowly to caramelize, about 15 minutes.
Pat artichokes dry with paper towels and add to vegetables. Sprinkle contents of pot with the flour, stir to coat, and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Increase heat to high and deglaze with the wine and water. (The finished sauce should be soupy in texture.) Mix well and cover with a plate or a small stainless steel pot lid that fits inside large pot to keep the artichokes submerged. When liquid begins to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Stir every few minutes so sauce does not stick to pot under the artichokes. Cook until a knife can just pierce the bottom of an artichoke, about 30 minutes. Place the whole pot in an ice water bath to stop cooking.
When mixture is cool, remove the fuzzy chokes from each artichoke bottom with a small spoon, being careful not to break the artichoke apart. Taste sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt. Strain the braising liquid over the artichokes and keep refrigerated.
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup Jordan Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Fleur de sel (French sea salt crystals)
Combine egg yolk with mustard and half of the lemon juice in a bowl with a rather small bottom, so that each turn of the whisk should have the greatest effect. Work in the olive oil very gradually, beating with a small wire whisk. Add remaining lemon juice, salt and Cayenne pepper to taste.
Divide artichokes among 6 soup plates with enough of the braising liquid to cover base of each plate. Drizzle the artichoke heart with olive oil mayonnaise. Top with a few fleur de sel crystals.
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