Before coming to live in Spain I could count on one hand the number of artichokes I’d eaten, even if I’d been the victim of some crazed finger-thief who had taken four digits from that hand. Little did I know that was about to change.

A nearby town, Benicarló, is famed for its alcachofas (or carxofa in Catalan).  Boasting its own Protected Denomination of Origin (DOP) the artichoke is celebrated with an annual Festa de la Carxofa (Artichoke Festival) when the town cooks up two tonnes of their prized vegetables over charcoal fires and transforms them into delicious finger food for the waiting masses.

The season runs from October through May, and we now make a point of savouring these local delicacies while they’re at their peak.

Initially unfamiliar with the artichoke we scoured the internet for ways to cook them, and have landed on few recipes that make the artichoke the star of the show.  But our favourite is the simple chargrilled one.

The locals have a special barbecue tool for grilling six or more whole artichokes at a time. Prepared with a good drizzle of our olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and a dash of white wine vinegar, the artichokes are placed into the grill holder and placed over the hot embers for 45 minutes or so. The outer petals blacken and char, but peel those away and the next layers are tender and succulent. Strip the flesh off the petals with your teeth and savour the delicious, almost nutty flavour. Eat your way to the softened heart of the artichoke and the star of the show is there, smoky, and delicately flavoured. Delicious on their own we also keep a few cooked hearts back to toss onto a Paella or into a salad a day or so later.  A local restaurant also does a magnificent plate of artichoke hearts in a parmesan sauce which is utterly divine!

We truly are converts to the joys of the artichoke, and have dedicated part of our veg patch to see if we can grow our own. It’s still early days as you’ll see from the photo! But we’ll keep you posted on our blog. We can’t wait to try one of our own!

Claire & Ed