Artichoke & Fava Barrigoule

Another dish I liked from this weekend was the Artichoke & Fava Barrigoule, which I plan to make next weekend, since I still have lots of artichokes and I brought home some favas from Georgeanne's house. It's a pretty simple recipe, but labor-intensive, as both the favas and the artichokes require some work. I'd recommend it for a small group, so I'm giving a recipe for 4.

Artichoke & Fava Barrigoule
1-2 Tbs. green garlic
4-6 artichokes,, trimmed and quartered
1-1¼ lbs. fava beans, removed from pods with skins off
1-2 Tb. extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 Tb. white wine
2-3 Tb. chicken broth (optional)
Sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sauté the garlic in a frying pan with a lid, then add the artichokes and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Next add the fava beans and sauté for a minute or two and add the white wine, scraping up any bits. If more liquid is needed, add the broth (or water). Add salt and pepper to taste along with the sprigs of thyme, and cook over low heat covered for about 15 minutes, or until artichokes are tender. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Saute the garlic in the olive

Artichokes

We planted artichokes a couple of years ago, and we’ve enjoyed having them right outside our door. Unfortunately, the plants are exceedingly large and really don’t fit well into a suburban garden. We bought two plants, and the artichokes are quite different—one roundish and the other cone-shaped. Usually we just steam them, but occasionally I do them “Roman-style,” where you eat the whole thing. This works best when they’re not too big. One of our plants fell down in a big wind-storm, so I’ll definitely take it out—maybe move it, if that’s possible. If not, I may start with a small new one, in a location that can handle it when full-size. Take a look!