Also known as, “what the heck is wrong with that celery???!?”

A walk through Machane Yehuda will reveal these enormously long celery-like vegetables on display at vendors throughout the market. A closer inspection reveals spike-like growths along the edge of the ribs, but they’re actually leaf buds. They leaves themselves look somewhat jagged.

Cardoons are relatives of artichokes, members of the thistle family. They’re also relatives of the milk thistle, which is that really tough weed you get in your Israeli lawn; it’s the one with the white-veined leaves with the sharp thorns on the edges. Cardoons supply a necessary enzyme for vegetable rennet, and there are cheeses made using this form of rennet. Slow down, caseophiles; it’s found in the stamens, which are already cut off before they reach market, not the stalks. You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?

Like an artichoke (and I imagine other non-edible thistles), cardoons can’t be eaten raw, owing to a horrendous bitter aftertaste. Most recipes call for boiling the cardoons in water with the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Good advice. Their subtle flavor once cooked can be easily overwhelmed by stronger flavors, so if you’re going to try this, it would be best to star in its own dish frittered, roasted, sauteed, braised or in a soup, with a minimum of competing flavors.

In honor of the return of iceberg lettuce, I came up with a salad dressing that would add a bite to counterbalance the cool crispness of the lettuce.

Then I added horseradish.

(more…)

Which is your favorite salsa? Crushed Tomato Salsa, mild Crushed Tomato Salsa, hot Fresh Tomato Salsa, mild Fresh Tomato Salsa, hot Corn and Black Bean Salsa Salsa? Isn't that a dance? View Results  Loading ...

It’s always fun to take the same ingredients and turn them into very diverse products. In my Sauteing & Frying II class, it was almost the same mise en place for each of the dishes. This week, it was salsa for the Game Day Gourmet class. I prepared two versions of tomato-based salsa. The principle for the dishes was to make it thin enough to be used for a dip, dry enough so that it didn’t make the chips too soggy, and to add the heat in layers so that it was flavorful and fiery.

(more…)