Cardoon

A quick introduction

Cardoons are thistle-like vegetables that are popular in the Mediterranean region. The long stalks are the edible parts of the plant, and while cardoon may look like a spiky celery, the taste is more reminiscent of artichoke. The plant grows tall and has thorny, pale-green/silver leaves, as well as beautiful, large, purple flowers that resemble artichokes. The bitterness and stringiness of cardoon is reduced significantly by cooking it. When planning your meal keep in mind that cardoon needs to be boiled for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Storage

Cardoon stores for a few days in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.

Season

Spring and end of fall

Suggestions for preparation

We prepare the cardoon for you at the farm by taking off the leaves and most of the spikes, but we still advise some caution when handling this vegetable :). If you don't want your hands to turn brown it is best to peel it wearing gloves (cardoons have the same browning effect as artichokes). Use a knife to remove some of the silver strings running along the stalk if they seem very tough. Keep the cleaned cardoon in some water with lemon to prevent excessive browning.

Cardoons are especially popular in Italian cooking where they are prepared in different ways, ranging from simply blanched or sautéed for sides and pastas to more elaborate preparations such as breading and frying or making a cardoon gratin. Our favourite way to prepare cardoon is to incorporate it into a béchamel-based lasagna. Stadsgroenteboer Milo shares his own recipe with you in the link below.