Artichoke Stem Salad Recipe, Cheapskate Cooking, Vegan, Paleo

One of my favorite vegetables out there is artichoke, but unfortunately they are only available for a short season locally, but unfortunately it is now over, and from my research, it seems that peak season for artichoke in the US is over by now as well. However, I couldn't wait a whole year more before I shared this recipe with you, so just bookmark it for next time you see them being sold inexpensively!

Many people are aware of canned artichokes, or stuffed artichoke hearts, and others know how to eat a whole artichoke, as well. Most, people, though, don't know that you can eat artichoke stems; they cut off the stems of the artichoke before boiling, steaming, or baking,
as it can be tough and fibrous. However, this is such a waste as artichoke stems are the tastiest part of the artichoke, in my opinion, with a taste that is not dissimilar to that of the heart.

Here's how you can get the most out of your artichokes, and be able to enjoy these stems in a delicious and refreshing salad!

This is a relatively big recipe; if you don't have the stems of 15 artichokes, just do it with as many artichokes as you do have, and adjust the other ingredients as needed. The idea is more important than the exact recipe.

 Artichoke Stem Salad Recipe, Cheapskate Cooking, Vegan, Paleo

Ingredients:                             

15 long artichoke stems
1/6 cup lemon juice
1/6 cup oil (olive is best)
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon thyme

Instructions:
1. When you trim the stem off your artichoke, you'll have a freshly cut end. Trim the other end a drop, so you have clean ends of your stems.

2. Now it is time to cook your artichoke stems. Artichoke is tasty but before cooking, it contains bitter compounds that come out after boiling or steaming. Once my mother tried making a soup with the water from cooking artichoke- bad idea, it is insanely bitter and not nice tasting. Because of that, when you boil your artichoke, you want to use a large proportion of water to stems otherwise the water will get too bitter and the bitterness will stay in the stems.

3. Boil until the stems are soft enough to easily bite through. This will take quite a bit of time, possibly close to an hour, certainly more than an hour. The exact time will depend on the thickness of your stem.

4. Once they're soft enough to bite through, slice into circles.

5. Add in the rest of the ingredients, to taste, and then chill.

6. Taste again once cold and adjust dressing ingredients to taste.

Enjoy!

If you want other ideas of things you can do with artichoke stems, here are a couple more:

Grilled Artichoke Stems

Artichoke Stem Soup

Raw Artichoke Stem Salad

Are you a fan of artichoke? Did you know that artichoke stems are edible? If so, and you eat artichoke, how do you typically prepare the stem?