Spring is here!
I always know for sure that spring has finally chased away the winter when I start seeing big piles of beautiful artichokes in the produce section. I absolutely love artichokes prepared in almost any fashion but I am especially partial to baby artichokes because they are so tender and delicately flavored. After you strip away a couple layers of the tough outer leaves you’re left with the heart, which is entirely edible and has none of that fuzzy, prickly stuff you’d find at the heart of a regular artichoke. Baby artichokes aren’t really any younger than mature artichokes but they’re called babies due to their much smaller size, which is the result of growing closer to the ground. The higher up the stalk, the bigger the artichoke. Bigger artichokes taste wonderful too but I enjoy the elegance of smaller sized artichokes when I want to use whole artichokes as part of a sauce.
The artichoke and caper sauce in this recipe tastes great with different kinds of meat. I used pork chops because that’s what I had in the fridge but you can substitute chicken breasts, veal chops or even lamb chops. Just make sure that whatever pieces of meat you choose are all about the same size to ensure even cooking.
PORK CHOPS WITH ARTICHOKES & CAPERS
4 bone-in pork chops, about 1 1/2 pounds total weight
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
2 lemons
9 baby artichokes
4 big garlic cloves, sliced thinly
8 ounce jar of capers, drained
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/3 cup chopped chives
Fill a large bowl with cold water and add the juice of one of the lemons.
Clean the artichokes by peeling away the outer layers of the leaves until you reach the more tender, greenish-yellow leaves right outside the heart. Cut off the top third of each artichoke. Trim the stem end. Slice in half. Place the artichoke halves in the bowl of water until ready to use.
Season the chops with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Brown chops well on both sides and cook through, about 5-7 minutes per side. Turn them a couple of times to avoid burning. Remove to a platter and cover tightly with foil to keep warm.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine.
Add the artichokes, garlic, broth and juice of the other lemon.
Turn up the heat a little bit. Cover and steam until the artichokes are very tender, about 10 minutes.
Lower heat back to medium.
Add the capers and heat through until warmed.
Swirl in the cold butter and chives.
Spoon the sauce over the chops and serve immediately.
Serves 4.
Revel & Feast 