Vegetarian mains
Cardoon gratin
Cardoons taste like a cross between celery and artichoke heart with a little bitterness thrown in for good measure. Serve this creamy, cheesy gratin golden and bubbling from the oven as a vegetarian main with grains or crusty bread and salad. A few cooked potatoes can be added to this gratin if you like before you bake it, to bulk it out a little.
Cook's notes
Cardoons are cultivated for their fleshy leaf-ribs. Bitter and tough when raw, they need to be prepared and cooked before eating. Remove any leaves and trim away the thorny edges. Cut them into 2 cm crescents and put into acidulated water (water with a squeeze of lemon) to stop them browning.
Ingredients
- 250ml double cream
- 500ml chicken or veg stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1.5-2kg cardoons, prepared and chopped into 2cm crescents (see cook's note on prep, below)
- 100g grated hard cheese (e.g. Cheddar, Gruyère)
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat your oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
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Step 2
Put the cream, stock and bay leaf in a large saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Add the prepared cardoons.
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Step 3
Bring the pan to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cardoons are tender, which can take up to 1 hour.
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Step 4
Transfer to a gratin dish, discard the bay leaf, sprinkle with cheese and bake for approx. 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling.