are you passionate about artichokes?
if you are, then have look at several ways of cooking it a'la Istanbul and one recipe of "olive oil braised artichoke"
I cannot imagine anyone who doesn’t like artichokes. really. I firmly believe this is the best plant to eat in the whole wide world.
for an Istanbulite, artichokes, ‘enginar’ in Turkish, epitomises the best of spring in Istanbul. the season starts with the ones coming from Cyprus. because it is so further south, beginning of March this variety starts appearing around the city. somewhere mid to end of March, the ones from Aydin province (inland mid-Aegean) start materializing. April and May is the season for Izmir and Northern Aegean varieties. and then in early June our prized (for Istanbulites anyway) Bayrampasa variety makes its appearance almost on every corner of Istanbul.
mind you all these varieties have different characteristics, shape, size and taste-wise. not every varietal is suitable for every dish. the Istanbulites and the Aegeans are really connoisseurs of this venerable thistle. every area thinks theirs are the best to grow and eat and of course everyone is right. as much as I prize the Bayrampasa varietal of Istanbul I would be the first to admit each holds its own characteristics and I am more the happier cook for it. this wide variety of selection allows me to cook a very wide range of artichoke dishes, hot or cold. at one point I even made a series of artichoke recipes on my YouTube channel. also I am grateful for a longer season. because with only Bayrampasa artichokes the season would be limited to 30-45 days. this way I am able to savour this delicate flower around 100 days. blessed!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to şemsa's food per se to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.