Baked Cardoons My Way

Name: Baked Cardoons My Way
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients: 1 lemon; 2 pounds cardoon, 1 small head or the inner stalks of a large head; 6 tablespoons butter, or as needed; 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or as needed; About 2/3 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, or as needed; A sharp knife and vegetable peeler for trimming cardoon stalks; A 2-quart baking dish or shallow casserole, 8 by 11 inches or similar size

December 14, 2011

Cardi are popular all over Italy, but especially in Sicily and in Piemonte, at opposite ends of the country. In Sicily it is cooked as a side dish (contorno) and served with pasta, whereas in Piemonte it is used in soups and stuffings and dipped in bagna cauda. In truffle season, all cardi dishes are served with shavings of white truffles. The prized cardoon of Piemonte—essential if serving with truffle—is the cardo gobbo di Nizza, the tender white cardoon that never sees light. Here is the baked cardoon gratinate I prepare at home with the conventionally grown cardoons available in American markets. The dish is delightful as is, but if you happen to have a white truffle lying around, give it a shave over the gratinate before serving.

Recipe notes

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