Cardi gratinati (Gratinéed Cardoons)
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of cardoons trimmed, cut into lengths and pre-cooked
- 200 g 7 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or more to taste
- 100 g 1 stick butter
- Salt and pepper
- A few spoonfuls of heavy cream optional
- Breadcrumbs optional
Instructions
- Place the pre-cooked cardoons neatly in layers in a buttered baking dish, each layer sprinkled with copious amounts of grated parmesan cheese and melted butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and—my little extra touch—a few spoonfuls of cream. (I also sometimes sprinkle some bread crumbs as well over each layer.)
- Bake in a very hot oven (220C, 250F) until nicely golden brown on top. Allow to cool off a bit before serving.
Notes
For this or any other recipe, you want to prep your cardoons. They need to be properly trimmed of their leaves, which grow from the top and edges of the stalks, then cut into lengths, scraped on their outer sides to remove the fibrous ribs and hard green skin. (It helps to split them in half lengthwise so they lay flat on your cutting surface.) Like artichokes, they should be immediately submerged in acidulated water to prevent them from discoloring. They then should be simmered in salted water for about an hour (or 15 minutes under pressure) until they are quite tender. You are then ready to use them in a variety of ways.