Eat Beat: Artichoke hearts with harissa salad

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In this Eat Beat, I demonstrate a simple, savory artichoke salad with cubed potatoes and which gets a nice touch of heat from added harissa paste (a Tunisian paste made with chiles, garlic, spices including cumin and caraway, and olive oil). The dish, which takes less than an hour to prepare, can easily be made ahead of time for later serving.

Catch our televised recipe demonstrations on KTLA-TV, Channel 5 weekly toward the end of the 1 p.m. news hour; you can also watch the videos on Food’s homepage.

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-- Noelle Carter
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Video credit: KTLA.

Artichoke hearts with harissa salad Total time: About 1 hour

Servings: 8

Note: Adapted from Got Kosher? Provisions.

2 lemons, each cut in half, divided

4 artichokes

2 red boiling potatoes

1 quart water

4 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons olive or canola oil

1 tablespoon harissa

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1. Squeeze the halves of 1 lemon into a large bowl filled with water.

2. Trim the artichokes: Hold an artichoke in one hand with the stem facing toward you and the tip facing away. Peel or trim away the tough outer leaves. Keep peeling or trimming until you’ve cut away enough of the tough leaves so that you see only light green at the base. Cut away the top half-inch or so of the tip of the artichoke and dip the artichoke into the lemon water to keep the cut surfaces from discoloring. With a paring knife, trim away the very tip of the stem, then peel the stem and base of the artichoke, going from the tip to where the base meets the leaves. When you’re done, there should be no dark green tough spots left, only pale green and ivory.

3. Dip each artichoke in lemon water to prevent browning, then cut in half lengthwise. Remove the hairy choke in the center of the heart (a serrated grapefruit spoon is easiest; a teaspoon will work too). Put the cleaned halves in the lemon water and repeat for the remaining artichokes.

4. Peel the potatoes and dice them into one-half inch pieces. Place the potatoes in a medium pot with the quart of water, garlic, oil, harissa, juice from the remaining lemon, paprika and salt. Drain the artichokes and quarter them lengthwise (if the artichokes are large, cut them lengthwise into eighths). Add the artichokes to the pot.

5. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer until the artichokes and potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

6. Strain the potatoes and artichokes from the pot into a serving dish or bowl. Bring the remaining liquid to a gentle simmer and cook until the liquid reduces to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the glaze over the artichokes and potatoes, tossing to coat. Serve warm or cold.

Each serving: 102 calories; 3 grams protein; 16 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 689 mg. sodium.