Alcachofa de España – Spanish Artichokes

Greetings from Sevilla, España!

I’m thrilled to have escaped the cold, snowy, icy weather in Toronto for the warmer Spain weather. Although it has been raining quite a bit in Seville since we arrived, it is still quite warm (for us) at a comfortable 15 °C to 21°C.

My first post from Spain is an ode to local artichokes or, Alcachofa de España.

As you may guess from the name of my blog, I like artichokes! In Spain artichokes are in season from most of the year, from different regions in the country.

You will find them in all the markets and vegetable stalls and on the menu at tapas bars and restaurants stir-fried, baked, stuffed with jamon, in a Spanish tortilla, or fried in tempura batter, just to name a few.

Here is just a sampling of a few of our favorites dishes (so far!).

Artichoke carpaccio with pistachios, fried cubes of ham and a small scoop of Parmesan cheese ice cream at El Disparate Restaurant, Artichoke stuffed with bacalao and fried slivers of garlic at Eslava Restaurant, deep fried artichoke flowers with aioli at Bar Carmela, and artichokes in tempura batter with romesco sauce at Palo Cortao.

They almost look to beautiful to eat!

Of course you can easily make them at home too! we picked some up at the Encarnación Market located in the Metropol Parasol space (Plaza de la Encarnación). They were delicious, quartered, then sauteed in olive oil with some slivered garlic before adding a splash of white wine and tossing with el dente pasta and a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Perfection!