artichoke & broad bean salad with avocado and dill |
This beautiful green symphony of a salad, like the beetroot one, was a direct result of my foray to the pazar on Monday where the artichokes were in such abundance. I love the way they are sold here, all cleaned and ready to go, floating in acidulated water. The vendor will put your purchases in a plastic bag filled with that water for the journey home and into the fridge! They can wait a couple of days like that till you want to use them.
enginar at Selami Çeşme market on Monday: 2½ liras for one |
For years I used to buy them whole. At home I would boil them and we would dip them leaf by tender leaf into a thick French vinaigrette and suck the delicate fleshy tip of each one. But time marches on, preferences change and I now prefer the hearts.
you have to be quick: once out of the lemony water, they start to go brown |
The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to cook them the traditional Turkish way if you don’t want to, even though they are quite delicious done like that (see links below). I remembered having a salad of chopped artichoke with broad beans at a party once and decided I would recreate it.
Easy enough, very easy, in fact: cut them up into small pieces – mine were very fleshy so I cut each into 6 triangular shapes – and place in a pan. Cover with cold water and the juice of 1 lemon and boil till tender, at least 35 minutes.
Meanwhile take your broad beans/bakla which I bought already shelled, wash them and place in a second pan. Cover with water and boil till done. I didn’t remove the skin after they were cooked as they are so fresh and young at this point. Later in the season, you will probably need to do this, however.
broad beans or bakla |
Place both in a dish like this:
cooked and mixed |
Add some chopped spring onions and fresh dill, as much as you like. Pour over a well-seasoned vinaigrette made from olive oil, lemon juice, and a spoonful of French mustard while the freshly cooked vegetables are still warm.
The final touch is the sprinkle of chopped spring onions and dill. The vibrant green enhances the appearance of the salad and both add taste and texture! Just before serving, I added some sliced avocado and lemon as you can see, for even more flavour and contrast.
spring artichoke & broad bean salad – you can’t get fresher than this! |
There’s bound to be one that strikes your fancy!
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