Ingredients
-Stalks from 1 large cardoon
-2 lemons
-Sea Salt
-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-2 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil
-1/2 cup coarsely grated provolone cheese or mozzarella
-1/2 cup finely grated pecorino
-Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
-Bring a large kettle of salty water to a boil and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-While
the water is heating, use your fingers to zip off the little strings
on the ribs of the cardoon stalks. You don’t have to get them all, just
do your best. Don’t dig too deep or you will break the stalk.
-Juice
one lemon and pour the juice into a large bowl of cold water. Chop the
cardoon stalks into batons of whatever length you like; I like 2-inch
batons. Put the cut cardoons into the lemon water to keep them from
discoloring.
-Toss
the already squeezed lemon pieces into the boiling kettle, then whisk
in the flour. Let this boil for a minute or two. The lemon-salt-flour
combo affects the cardoons in some way that keeps them a pretty light
green and removes some of the bitterness. (This is Wolfert’s trick.)
-Toss in the cardoons and boil for 40 minutes.
-Smear
olive oil or bacon fat all over the inside of a casserole just large
enough to hold the cardoon pieces in one layer. When the cardoons are
done, arrange them in the casserole. -Sprinkle over the mozzarella,
then the pecorino. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cheese begins
brown.
-Serve
with a wedge of lemon and freshly ground black pepper. Eat this with a
malty beer or a shot of grappa or ouzo - it’s not a very wine-friendly
dish.
