Pie with Artichoke and Smoked Chicken

Ingredients: 1 onion, thyme, rosemary, oregano, 1 smoked chicken breast, 3 sundried tomatoes, 400 grams artichoke hearts, salt, pepper, 3 eggs, 100 ml cream, puff pastry for savory pie,

Number of persons: 4

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Bake in hot oil 1 finely chopped onion with thyme, rosemary and oregano until the onion is soft. Add 1 diced smoked chicken breast, 3 finely chopped sundried tomatoes and 400 grams chopped artichoke hearts (can), bring to taste with salt and pepper and heat well. Let it cool down a bit. Meanwhile Beat 3 eggs with 100 ml cream, salt and pepper. Coat a pie tin with puff pastry for savory pie. Put the artichoke chicken mixture in it and pour the egg mixture in it. Place the pie tin about 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Enjoy!

Pizza with Artichoke and Bacon

Ingredients: 1 package fresh dough for savory pie, mustard, mozzarella, 1 red onion, 1 grilled pepper, 1 tin artichoke hearts, 100 grams bacon,

Number of persons: 3

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Spread the fresh dough (for savory pie) with mustard. Sprinkle with chopped mozzarella. Spread one half with 1 chopped red onion, 1 chopped grilled pepper, chopped artichoke hearts (1 can) and 100 grams sliced bacon. Fold the other half of dough over the ingredients and fold the edges properly closed. Put the pizza in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle grated cheese if you like. Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Artichoke

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Ingredients: spaghetti, salt, 200 grams diced bacon, 1 onion, 1 clove garlic, thyme, basil, 50 ml white wine, 200 ml chicken stock, 1 can artichoke hearts,

Number of persons: 2

Cook the spaghetti in boiling water with salt. Bake in a hot wok 200 gram diced ontbijtspek with 1 chopped onion, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, thyme and basil until the onion is soft. Add 50 ml white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Add 200 ml chicken stock, bring to boil. Add 1 can artichoke hearts, lower the heat and braise 10 minutes. Serve with spaghetti. Enjoy!

ARTICHOKE PARTY POKE BRUSCHETTA

You wanna bang? Artichokey Dokey!

Have you ever found yourself without inspiration on what sort of vittles to bring to a party? Ever been scrambling to figure out a classy snack to serve your date with a great bottle of red? Bruschetta to the rescue! It’s light, tasty and goddamn refreshing. Did I mention how simple it is to prepare? You could whip up a batch with your eyes wide shut leaving you plenty of time to tame those clothes your date is still wearing. Be sure to remind them that bruschetta is part of the Mediterranean diet. Be sure to emphasize that you are looking out for their health. The fact the artichoke is a turbo-charged is beside the point. Just go with it when they pounce on you and making a disappearing act of your pants. Abra-bang-dabra!

Total time: approximately 15 minutes
Projected cost: $9
Drinking Buddy: Red wine

Ingredients (serves 2)
1. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
2. 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
3. 2 twists of crack pepper
4. 1 sprinkle of salt
5. 1 baguette
6. 2 handfuls of drained hearts chopped
7. 1 handful of diced red onion
8. 3 tomatoes diced finely
9. 1 small handful of chopped BASIL
10. 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
11. 1 large handful of grated parmesan (skip to make vegan)

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the nubs off the baguette, and then cut ½ inch slices at a diagonal to make more room for fixings. Place the slices on a baking sheet and toast through in the oven until they brown slightly (approx 10 min).

Step 2
Mix together the tomato, artichoke, red onion, basil, garlic, pepper, salt, olive oil and vinegar in a bowl.

Step 3
Scoop a tablespoon of bruschetta fixings onto each toasted bread slice. Sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on top of each and serve with a bottle of wine.

Tuna & Artichoke Panini on Homemade Fennel Focaccia

Our panini maker has had a nice hiatus, but last night we brought it back into play.

This recipe is what you call “winging-it”, a jumble of what was left in the cupboard at the time, and for once, I actually wrote it down as I went along. Maybe I knew it was destined to be delicious.

Part of it anyways.

The homemade fennel focaccia… not so great. It worked fine for the panini, grilled and paired with other strong flavors, but take a bite of it raw and it tasted faintly of play-dough. I’m still a bread-beginner, and will surely keep testing the waters with other focaccia recipes. I’ll get a good one sooner or later!

Tuna & Artichoke Panini

Makes 3-4 Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
Focaccia bread, sliced in half
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 small jar artichoke hearts, chopped, liquid reserved
1 tablespoon capers
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 can tuna
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Combine mayo, lemon zest, capers, parmesan, and 2 tablespoons of reserved artichoke liquid in food processor. Pulse 4-5 times or until well combined.

In a small bowl, combine artichoke hearts, tuna, red onion, and sundried tomatoes. Add mayonnaise mixture and stir well to combine.

Preheat panini maker or large skillet. Divide tuna mixture equally among bread, not spreading it too close to the edge (pressing the sandwich will spread out the filling, you don’t want it to ooze!). Liberally brush top and bottom with olive oil. Press or cook until filling is heated through and both sides are golden brown.

Artichoke Heart, Olive, and Goat Cheese Pizza

When you have a good foundation, you can build just about anything. Like cupcakes. Once you have your fail-safe vanilla/chocolate cupcake base, you can experiment with flavors to your heart’s content.

Same is true for pizza. I’m in love with this crust. It’s crisp, flavorful, and complex. It could practically pass as focaccia, delicious without any toppings at all. Granted, it requires most of the day as far as planning ahead, but the results are well worth it.

This time, we topped the crust with some artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and as always, goat cheese.

Quite the tasty treat! And while it doesn’t quite satisfy Taylor’s constant craving for greasy pepperoni pizza, it sure hit the spot for me. I’d never been one for red sauce pizzas, so for me, this is the pizza of my dreams.

Artichoke Heart, Olive, and Goat Cheese Pizza

Makes 2-4 servings (depending on how hungry you are and how big you roll it).
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (from 1 envelope)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Topping:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, drained
3 slices oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
2-1/2 ounces soft goat cheese, sliced or crumbled
10 kalamata olives, pitted and halved (about 1/4 cup)

DIRECTIONS
For crust:
Pour 3/4 cup water into large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add oil, salt, and herbs, then 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir until well blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking, about 5 minutes (dough will be soft). Shape dough into ball; place in large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel. Let dough rise at cool room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down; form into ball. Return to bowl; cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Punch down dough. Form into ball; place on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel; let rest 30 minutes. Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet.

Mix olive oil, rosemary, and garlic in small bowl, and set aside.

Bake crust for 5-7 minutes or until just set. Remove from oven and brush 2 tablespoons garlic oil evenly over crust. Sprinkle with artichoke hearts, olives, sundried tomatoes, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle pizza evenly with remaining garlic oil.

Bake pizza until crust is crisp and cheese begins to brown, 15-18 minutes. Transfer pizza to board. Cut into wedges and serve warm.