Let’s talk artichoke people! Yes, artichoke.
Growing up, shelling peas and artichoke were my two favourite tasks when I was helping out in the kitchen. Why? Because they were my favourite raw vegetables. Yes, eating vegetables raw was the norm for my fam. We ate 90 percent of vegetables raw.
My two favourites were peas and artichoke. (I didn’t actually like them cooked)
Shelling peas was easy, one for me, one for the pot, and artichoke was even better. I got to eat ALL the end bit of leaves ‘cause Mum used the heart of the artichoke only.
I haven’t made any artichoke recipes before, because I’m not sure how many people would eat this super-green flower that’s jam packed with antioxidants.
It took me till I was an adult to appreciate cooked artichoke. My family aren’t mad about them (more for me) but I still cook with them. I prefer to use fresh artichoke, but sometimes they can be very expensive, so I’ll use half fresh and half preserved, or as in this case I used one for the centre and the rest were from a jar (I didn’t want to dip into my super to buy the fresh ones).
This is an easy, fast, and incredibly healthy dinner. It’s perfect for any night of the week. In this delightful dish, you will discover tender-baked chicken covered in a flavoursome cooked marinade and topped with delicious artichoke hearts.
Ingredients
8 pieces of chicken thighs on the bone
10 pieces of fresh artichoke hearts (fluffy bit removed), cut into quarters,
(or 1 (275g) jar of marinated artichoke hearts - that’s what I used in this dish)
1 onion
1 cup Chicken stock
1 cup White wine
1 blood orange for decoration
Marinade
6 cloves garlic, crushed
One onion, sliced into rings
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons dried oregano (there were no fresh leaves)
4 tablespoons olive oil
Juice from one orange
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a large bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients, toss the chicken and coat.
If you can, allow to marinate for a couple of hours.
Preheat the oven to 200C
Place onion rings on in an oven dish, pour wine and stock. Arrange the marinated chicken pieces and artichoke hearts on top and make sure you include all the marinade.
Cook in the oven for an hour uncovered or until the chicken is cooked through.