For those of you who are in the northern hemisphere, you probably have seen artichokes in the stands. Hopefully those artichokes are local and I assume you’re trying out some recipes with this very seasonal vegetable. I used to be intimidated by cleaning artichokes but not anymore. I’ve always loved the taste of artichokes. love their look and I actually like the fact that one has to “tame them in the kitchen” i.e. peeling and trimming them.

Artichokes are a perrennial thistle and as we speak, the markets in the Mediterranean and brimming with them. I’d probably be having artichoke in some form each and every day. In Greece, artichokes are pickled, included in stews like “Artichokes ala Polita” or paired with Veal and Avgolemono. I’ve also made my own version of artichoke dip, both creamy and cheezy but without forgetting that the dip is supposed to taste of artichokes (recipe to be posted soon).

Today, I’m going to share a vegetarian version of Moussaka with artichokes being the main ingredient. The classic Greek Moussaka is made of eggplant and ground meat, some families will also add a potato layer and the dish is topped with a Bechamel that rises like a souffle in the oven and creating another layer. I’ve also made a version of Moussaka that uses zucchini and mince meat. Oh the choices!

Today’s dish is filling, it’s light and when you break down the servings, the eggs and cheese in the recipe aren’t too heavy-handed. The biggest challenge of this dish is ensuring the Moussaka doesn’t collapse when you serve it. To help prevent this, I’ve inserted the halved artichokes in the filling (more surface covered), the use of bread crumbs to absorb some liquid and finally, allow the dam Moussaka to rest before serving.

I’m not the first one to make an Artichoke Moussaka. Just yesterday when I posted some teaser photos of the dish, one of my friends rejoiced as she was reminded of her mom’s artichoke Moussaka! This version is my own take and unlike my family’s eggplant Moussaka, I’ve added the potato component to the dish.

This dish is made of a layer of lightly fried potatoes, artichokes layered between sauteed onions and fresh peas and straight from my herb garden, fresh oregano and dill. Again, I’m not the first to make an Artichoke Moussaka but now I suspect I won’t be the last.

Artichoke Moussaka (Αγκινάρες μουσακά)

(serves 4-6)

8-10 fresh artichokes

juice of 1 lemon

water

2 large onions, peeled and sliced

2 cups fresh green peas (or thawed from frozen)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large potatoes

Approx. 1 cup of coarse bread crumbs

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dry)

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup crumbled Feta for assembly (buy your Feta here)

Bechamel Sauce

1/2 stick of unsalted butter (about 4 Tbsp.)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

4 cups of scalded whole milk (homogenized)

1/2 cup grated Kefalotyri cheese + 1/4 cup for topping (Buy Kefalotyri here)

salt and pepper to taste

4 eggs

Pre-heated 350F oven

1. Peel the leaves off your artichokes until you get to the tender leaves, yellow in colour. Snip the brown tip off the stem and peel the skin of the stem with a vegetable peeler and also trim the perimeter of the artichoke just above where the stem begins. Cut off the end of the artichoke and then insert a grapefruit spoon (toothed) into the cavity and twist and scoop out the choke and discard. Cut the artichokes in half (lengthwise) and place in a bowl with the juice of 1 lemon plus enough water to just cover the artichokes (click here to see my instructions with photos on cleaning artichokes).
2. In the meantime, peel your potatoes (keep the skins on if they are light-skinned and washed well) and slice into 1/8 slices. Lightly fry your potato coins and blot with paper towel and season lightly with salt and pepper. Reserve.
3. In the meantime, place a large skillet over medium heat and add the slices of 1 onion plus 1 cup of peas. Season with a little salt and pepper and now place your halved artichokes on top and then the remaining sliced onions and peas. Season again with some salt and pepper and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the artichokes are fork-tender and little liquid is left from the onions (you may uncover at the end to cook-off any excess liquid). Set aside.
4. To make your Bechamel, add the butter to a medium-sized pot over medium heat and once the butter has melted, add your flour and stir for a minute or until it becomes a paste with the butter. Now add some warm milk ( in increments) and continue stirring all along this step. As soon as your sauce has thickened, add your 1/2 cup of grated Kefalotyri cheese and stir in. Adjust taste with salt and pepper and set aside (keep warm).
5. Pre-heat your oven to 350F (middle rack) and let’s commence assembly. You will need a round or rectangular deep baking vessel. Grease the inside with butter or olive oil and sprinkle bread crumbs on the bottom and the sides. Place your slices of potatoes, slightly overlapping each other on the bottom.
6. Using a ladle, ladle enough Bechamel sauce to just cover your potatoes. Now crack your four eggs and lightly beat and vigourously whisk into your remaining Bechamel and set aside.
7. Remove the top layer of peas and onions from your skillet and place in the baking vessel on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle with some chopped fresh dill and oregano, some bread crumbs and half the crumbled Feta. Now remove the halved artichokes from the skillet and add to your layers followed by another sprinkling of bread crumbs. Sprinkle some more bread crumbs and finally add the remaining layer of onions and peas and the remaining chopped dill and oregano. Sprinkle the remaining crumbled Feta along with some bread crumbs.
8. Now pour the remaining Bechamel sauce over your layers and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Kefalotyri over your Bechamel.
9. Place in your pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden-brown. Allow to rest for at least another 30 minutes before serving.
10. Try a Claudia Papayianni Ex’Arnon white, made from Assyrtiko and Chardonnay grapes.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at  http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis

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© 2010, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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