Artichokes are a domesticated type of thist le, which in France, are grown mainly on Brittany’s northern coast. French Purple is a traditional French variety which produces very tasty artichoke hearts. It is a perennial vegetable and will grow for many years to a height of about a metre and a half.
This recipe has simple ingredients, but the combination of them all, along with the herbs used, create a very flavoursome dish of vegetables to have with any meal.
INGREDIENTS:
600 gr potatoes, smaller size if possible.
500 gr artichokes
200 gr cherry tomatoes
160 gr Kalamata pitted black olives
60 gr olive oil
1 lemon (thinly sliced and seeds removed)
1 tsp herbs de Provence
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tblsp chopped sage
Salt and pepper to taste
A handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
TO PREPARE:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. After washing potatoes, put them into a saucepan of salty water and boil them for about 15 minutes.
Remove from water and slice them into pieces of about 1 cm wide. Place them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Slice the artichokes into slices a bit thicker thanthe potatoes.
Place potatoes and artichokes onto baking tray, cover with oil. Add the garlic, herbs de Provence, sage, salt and pepper. Toss till all ingredients are coated with oil. Bake for 25 minutes. Add the tomatoes, olives and lemon slices, toss gently and coat all vegetables with the oil again, then bake for a further 20 minutes.
Remove from baking dish and put into a serving dish, garnishing with freshly chopped parsley. Serve warm with any main course. It can be used with fish, red meat or chicken. This is a vegetable dish well worth trying.
