A couple of weeks ago I posted an artichoke recipe from Piedmont [foot of the mountains] in Northern Italy. That recipe for Artichokes with Egg and Lemon Sauce surprised me: eggs and artichokes? Well, here is another surprise from Piedmont: Cavour Artichokes featuring a sauce of hard-boiled eggs and anchovies!
This idea is one that Suzi and I will experiment on in the coming weekend. Normally, we boil the artichokes and dip the leaves into chipotle mayonnaise. We like some tang in our mouth. Time for this very new twist with the tang supplied by anchovies!
Artichokes with Egg and Lemon Sauce
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients:
For the artichokes:
- 8 very young globe artichokes
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 salted anchovies, boned and finely chopped
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf Parsley
- Sea salt
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Trim the artichokes by cutting off the spiny tops and removing some of the tough other leaves, then cut away the tough exterior of the stalks. Boil for 10-15 minutes in lightly slated water, until tender. Drain thoroughly.
Put the artichoke into an ovenproof dish. Cover with the melted butter and Parmesan, then transfer to the oven to keep warm.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat until just sizzling, then add the chopped anchovies, hard-boiled eggs and parsley and stir together thoroughly. Cook for 3-4 minutes to heat through.
Pour the butter sauces over the artichokes and serve immediately, sprinkled with extra grated Parmesan
Source: The Italian Regional Cookbook by Valentina Harris [Lorenz Book, 2018]