Photograph courtesy of Herbivoracious
Michael Natkin of Herbivoracious was so enamored with his meal at The Pink Door, a classic Seattle Italian restaurant, that he decided to make his own spaghetti with fresh artichokes at home. This looks restaurant-worthy to us.
"Spring is so fleeting."
I thought this to myself this weekend as I came back from the San Rafael Farmers' Market. I live in San Francisco, so let's be honest: it's not like I just survived through a long, hard winter. Not as long and hard as some of you have. Through the shortest days, we still have lettuces and citrus, year-round markets, and quite a variety of fruits and vegetables. But even the heartiest locavores among us get a little weary of butternut squash and stored apples and canned tomatoes.
Enter spring.
The first signs of spring came about a month ago with the grand entrance of Delta asparagus from the Sacramento area. And now, we are in the midst of spring abundance complete with fava beans, artichokes, spring lettuces and strawberries. There is something about springtime to me that is extra special.
While we see the arrival of some crops that will stick around for many months—strawberries, for instance—many last just mere weeks. Spring is a series of short bursts of flavor. Miss a couple of weeks at the market, and entire crops will have passed you by.
I am firm believer in the that if you fry anything, it's an automatic improvement. Fry something and put it in sandwich form, and you've struck gold. Nowhere is that more apparent than an hour or two south of San Francisco, in Monterrey County, the Artichoke Capital of the World, where hundreds of restaurants serve up their version of the fried artichoke sandwich. I can't imagine there's a bad fried artichoke sandwich to be had in the whole county, but my go-to stop is the Lighthouse Harbor Grill, in Moss Landing, right on Route 1.
Their version is served on a ciabatta-like "Francese Roll" from Kelly's French Bakery in Santa Cruz. It's given a nice dose of balsamic vinegar on the bottom slice and is then topped with locally grown artichokes that began the previous night marinating in saltwater and citric acid. After the soak, the artichokes are dipped in a tempura batter with garlic powder and parsley before being deep-fried to a golden brown. The sandwich has the requisite lettuce, tomato, and onion—but the real key is the thick rectangular hunk of feta that rests in the middle.
The salty and sharp feta, with the rich and crisp artichokes, cut by the balsamic vinegar and held together by a soft pillowy ciabatta roll. The perfect roadside sandwich for the Route 1 traveler, and further proof that fried is always better.
Lighthouse Harbor Grill
Address: Route 1 and Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing CA 95039
Phone: 831-633-3858
Mary Vuong of the Houston Chronicle says it's time we gave the thorny, meaty artichoke a chance: "An artichoke is a work of art. Home cooks often treat it as art, too. They look but are afraid to touch. But artichokes—fancy enough to star at a dinner party, easy to pop in the microwave when you're eating alone—are worth some effort. With peak season running through May, now is the perfect time to tackle the thistle."
If you're up for the challenge, Vuong includes three recipes: one by Gaetano Ascione, chef de cuisine at Houston's Quattro, and two by Lidia Bastianich, both from her latest cookbook Lidia's Italy which was just published this month.
Elise's How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke is one of my favorite tutorials, and quite timely — the peak of California artichoke season is upon us (March-May)!
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