I am back in the sandpit of Dubai for the run up to Christmas but have a few developments back at Oaklands that I can catalogue in the meantime. I will join the boys and Jane a few days before the event but it looks like New Year at least is going to be difficult under the rules in the UK.
Focusing on happier things the early Autumn produced a small glut of Artichokes that needed to be used before they went over. Artichokes were one of my original planks with the Demi-lunes next to the Potager. It seems like an age since the original lockdown when I was dreaming up vegetable and flower planting plans before the beds and paths were completed. The big architecture to these beds was going to be two groups of Cardoons (inedible cousins but with lovely foliage and thistle like flowers) and then scattered through the beds I had ordered another 16 Artichokes - although I think Thompson and Morgan only despatched 12 in the end,
Artichokes are lovely to look at but a difficult proposition when it comes to their preparation. The outer hard petals can be spiky and the fluffy choke packed in their centres threatens the treasure of the hearts that you are trying to coax out. I have eaten them using the petal dipping method. With some of the middle petals you get a soft base of flesh that is considered a delicacy, but often my attempts had left a "Why am I bothering feeling ?". It probably comes down to my ham-fisted preperation. I had to find a better way than a semi-edible mess on a plate with my final harvest.
Jane had managed to enjoy several heads in my absence by using a Delia recommended technique from an old cookbook. I fully expect it is the right way to do it and taught in culinary schools. Simply put you remove the coarser outer leaves and the prise open the packed top of the petals to reach down into the centre. Removing a small pyramid of smaller leaves allows you then to scoop out the choke in one go with a sturdy teaspoon. I think a grapefruit teaspoon might work wonders for the job,
As you prepare each head for cooking they should be plunged into water with a good dose of lemon juice. I found that the biggest pasta pan we own managed to accomodate the bed's final harvest for a 30 minute steamy boil.
Faced with a glut of Artichoke hearts I thought that a little Italian inspired preparation was in order so I went down the Anti-pasta/olive oil preservation route, I ended up with a large Kilner jar full of softened hearts that should work well with boxing day cold meats....
The postscript to the story involves the simultaneous development of outdoor pizza cooking at the villa in Al Barsha. A Youtube post inspired the creation of a simple oven from 70 or so fire bricks and 3 granite pavings stones - erection time was just 10 minutes of grown up lego. No adhesives or too much worry. There are several films online - we adapted a plan and called it the Mark 1. A friend Nick assisted with sourcing and collecting the materials - and we did the build together. The Mark 1 pizza oven is now turning out amazing pizza for less than £ 100 pound in materials and a £ 5 pound bag of firewood each weekend. The time will soon come for a Mark 1 to be installed at Oaklands and then all manner of produce can be directed towards pizza toppings - including Artichoke hearts. Happy slow food days ahead.
It is not the prettiest oven but it does the job.
The trick is with the flu at the back - an offset of bricks to draw up the flames and heat from the lower oven to the upper cooking space that is also directly heated by the fire underneath. I thoroughly recommend trying a jerry-built oven first to see if you like preparing dough ad the careful work of artisan pizza making before investing a bundle in a more expensive oven that might sit idle after the initial excitement. Looking back on 2020 pizza and Artichokes will be one if the simple highlights - and I like how Al Barsha and Oaklands are "talking" to each other as we find new ways of growing, preparing, storing and cooking food,
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