Artichokes in Olive Oil
A spring classic of the Turkish kitchen: artichokes braised in olive oil with peas and carrot, served at room temperature.
- Time
- 40 minutes
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Medium
- Cuisine
- Turkish
Artichokes in olive oil is one of the best-known cold dishes of Aegean cooking. The Turkish name — zeytinyağlı, "with olive oil" — is not decoration but the definition of a whole family of dishes: here the oil is not merely a cooking medium, it is the flavour itself. That is why, as the dish cools, what comes forward is the oil rather than the seasoning, and why what goes into the pot shows up directly on the plate. The distinction between extra virgin and riviera has a real consequence in this recipe.
The artichoke is a Mediterranean winter crop. In Türkiye the area around İzmir — Urla and Seferihisar in particular — is the main growing region, with spring as the season. Because trimming fresh artichokes is laborious, frozen artichoke bottoms are a common shortcut; if you use them, cut the cooking time roughly in half or they will fall apart.
Directions
- Trim the artichokes: remove the outer leaves, the tough parts and the stalk. Keep them in lemon water so they do not darken.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and soften the onion until it turns pale gold.
- Add the carrots and stir for 3-4 minutes.
- Set the artichokes in the pan. Add the peas, lemon juice, sugar and salt.
- Pour in the hot water, cover, and cook over low heat for 35-40 minutes.
- When the liquid has reduced, take the pan off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Serve scattered with dill.
Tips & storage
Stop them browning. Move each trimmed artichoke into lemon water straight away. The polyphenols in artichoke oxidise on contact with air and the cut surfaces darken; the acid slows this down. For the same reason, avoid lifting the lid unnecessarily while it cooks.
Do not cut back the oil. In this family of dishes the oil is what carries the flavour once the food is cold; a zeytinyağlı made with reduced oil tastes flat at serving temperature. A mild extra virgin, low in bitterness and pungency, suits this recipe better than an aggressive one.
Serve at room temperature, not chilled. Taken straight from the fridge the oil has set and the aroma stays closed; half an hour out of the fridge is enough.
Storage. Keeps up to three days in a sealed container in the fridge, and the flavour settles as it sits. A little fresh extra virgin poured over at the moment of serving makes the biggest difference — provided the oil itself has been kept away from light and heat.
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