Artichoke and Orange Salad with Saffron and Mint

Name: Artichoke and Orange Salad with Saffron and Mint
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lemons, juiced; 15 fresh baby artichokes, or 15 frozen artichoke hearts or bottoms; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced; 1 1/3 cups orange juice; Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 4 Valencia or other thin-skinned oranges; 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste; Pinch of saffron; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

December 9, 2011

Artichokes, one of my favorite vegetable, are edible thistles that were prized by the ancient Romans as food of the nobility. They have been a springtime food in the Mediterranean for thousands of years and particularly loved by Jews. Usually the French serve artichokes as a cold salad appetizer with a vinaigrette. Although I have seen this recipe in many Jewish cookbooks from North Africa, I hadn’t tasted it until Paula Wolfert cooked it for me on my PBS show, Jewish Cooking in America. It was a merveille, as my French friends would say. In the years since, I have eaten many different versions of this salad. Céline Bénitah, who lives in Annecy but came from Berkane, on the Algerian border of Morocco, said that all North African Jews who grew up in this orange- growing region have their own versions of this recipe. Hers includes saffron. Of course, this salad tastes best when fresh artichokes are used, but frozen artichoke hearts or bottoms work as well.

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