Artichokes A La Polita (Constantinople Style)

Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables. Preparing them like a stew, with potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil makes them even better. The first time I had this dish was in Greece (after all, it is a Greek dish 🙂 ), my aunt Popi made it and I remember thinking that this was one of the most delicious and light dishes I have eaten. This recipe is my take on the famous recipe originally introduced by Nicholas Tselemendes, considered the most popular Greek chef of the twentieth century, who took the original recipe, which was made up of only artichokes, shallots, olive oil and lemon, and added potatoes and carrots to the dish, adding more layers of flavor and hardiness. He is the one that gave it the name, “a la polita”, which refers to the name that Greeks refer to the city/town of Constantinople. Others have improvised even more and added peas. This dish is healthy, light, and vegan. Pair it with some homemade bread and feta (becomes vegetarian with feta 🙂 ) and you have yourself a wonderful meal.

I use fresh artichokes but if you can find pre-cleaned frozen then those will work too, and will save you the time of cleaning them. Follow this link for a tutorial on how to remove an artichoke heart, if you are doing it yourself. Once you remove the heart, keeping some of the stem, put it in a large bowl filled with water, lemon juice, as well as the halved lemon parts.

Using water for the liquid is what makes this a light and Spring-like dish. You can also use vegetable or chicken stock (no longer vegetarian with chicken stock), if you want an added layer of flavor. You can also leave out the thickeners (flour and/or corn starch), if you prefer (and it makes it gluten free too) for a lighter and thinner broth. It’s just as tasty, just soupier. Also, make sure the taste of your lemon juice is not bitter, that can change the taste from a nice lemon flavor to a not so good bitter flavor.

You will need:

• 4-6 large artichokes, cleaned to yield the hearts only, soaked in lemon water until ready to use
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, or equivalent in shallots, finely chopped (about heaping 1/2 cup)
• 4-6 scallions, chopped (white parts separated)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped on diagonal (about 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cups water (depending how saucy you want it)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4-1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Steps:

1. In a medium sized pot, heat olive oil and sauté onions and white part of scallions until translucent, on medium heat.
2. Add garlic and green parts of onion and sauté for another minute.
3. Add carrots and flour, and cook for a couple of minutes
4. Add potatoes, cleaned artichokes, bay leaf and water, stir well until everything is combined well.
5. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt and about 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, and stir.
6. Bring to a boil and then put the lid onto pot and lower temperature and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
7. Uncover, remove bay leaf and add frozen peas.
8. In the meantime, make a slurry with 1/4 cup of the lemon juice, corn starch and about 1/4 cup of liquid from pot. Make sure the corn starch has dissolved and then slowly pour into pot while you gently stir.
9. Bring to a simmer and cook a few more minutes. Taste for salt and add more if you desire and add the rest of the lemon juice if you think it needs it. Some lemons are bitter and some are milder so make sure you taste the stew before adding more.
10. Add the dill and parsley, and stir to combine. Let sit for 30 minutes before eating so flavors combine and sauce slightly thickens.
11. When ready to eat, serve in a shallow bowl and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, some more chopped dill, and serve with a wedge of lemon. Make sure you have some fresh bread for dipping into the sauce 🙂 .

Kali Orexi!