Preparation / Directions:
These pickles are worth every bit of the time it takes to prepare them.
They're one of the best tasting and most beautiful preserves on my pantry
shelf. The pale, creamy yellow leaves around the artichoke heart glisten
in the oil-herb vinegar brine, and sometimes a faint hint of purple on the
chokes is evident, too. Their rustic taste recalls the simple antipasti of
Italy's country trattorias.
Combine the lemon juice and water in a saucepan large enough to eventually
hold all the trimmed artichokes.
Prepare the artichokes, one at a time. Cut off and discard card the stem,
then halve the artichoke from tip to stem end. Immediately rub the cut
surface with a lemon half to prevent discoloring. Scoop out the furry
choke, then gently rub the exposed surface with lemon. Cut off the outer
layers of leaves, so the only leaves remaining are the tender, pale yellow
ones. Older or larger artichokes will have more tough outer leaves so more
will have be removed than on younger or smaller artichokes. Immediately
drop trimmed artichoke into the lemon water.
Repeat process until all artichokes have been trimmed.
Cook the artichokes in the lemon water for 3 to 5 minutes, depending upon
size of artichoke hearts. If mixed sizes are used, remove the small ones
after 3 minutes. Drain artichoke hearts and pack them tightly into 2 clean,
dry, pint canning jars with sealable lids. Add cup of vinegar and 1/4
teaspoon of salt to each jar. Cover with the lids and let stand overnight.
The next day, drain off and discard the vinegar. Add 1 cup of vinegar to
each jar. Let jars stand 4 to 6 hours. Drain off and discard vinegar. Add
1 garlic clove, 2 bay leaves, 1/4 teaspoon basil, 1/2 teaspoon oregano and
1 or 2 dried chiles (if desired) to each jar. Fill to within 1/2 inch of
the rims with olive oil. Cover with the lids.
At this point, the artichokes will keep up to 1 month stored in the
refrigerator. alternately, they may be processed for 30 minutes in a
canning kettle using the hot water process. The sealed, canned artichoke
hearts keep up to 1 year.
Makes 2 pi
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