Balsamic Artichokes with Red Onion
An original recipe from Chef Carlo's: "SOUP, SEX, and the SINGLE MAN"This wonderful recipe is a great side dish that is easy to prepare, and a real flavorful addition to a lackluster main course. It has a just few carbs in it, but so does the air in Philly .. so live a little!! Ha! 1) Clean and cut the artichokes and red onion into 8 wedges.
- 6 large artichokes
- 2 large red onions
- 1/3 cup pure Olive Oil*
- 1 cup Vegetable Broth**
- 1/2 cup aged Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2) Sauté artichokes and red onion with 2 Tbs. olive oil for 2 minutes.
3) Add salt and the vegetable broth and cook in a covered pan for 4 to 5 minutes.
4) Remove the cover, add the balsamic vinegar and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with fresh black pepper and even a few dashes of imported cheese and serve immediately.
Serves 4 to 6 happy people... :)
*Pure olive oils have a higher smoke point than regular, or virgin olive oils. Light olive oils can therefore be used for high-heat frying, whereas regular olive oil is better suited for low- to medium-heat cooking, as well as for many uncooked foods such as salad dressings and marinades. I recommend using pure olive oil for frying, since the flavor of extra virgin olive oil tends to break down at frying temperatures, making the added expense a waste.
Further, and perhaps most important, Olive Oil is good for your health in every instance. Monounsaturated oils such as olive oil are more protective of HDL (the good cholesterol) levels than polyunsaturated fats such as corn oil and soybean oil. Olive oil reduces total cholesterol without lowering HDL.
All Olive oil should be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months. It can be refrigerated, which I do with my finest oils, such as Truffle, and extended aged, in which case it will last up to a year. Chilled olive oil becomes cloudy and too thick to pour. However, it will clear and become liquid again when brought to room temperature.
** I make my own vegetable broth, by keeping a small pot on the stove as I am trimming my vegs, for storage, or cooking. I throw every veg scrap it and keep it at the lowest heat for hours, until I drain it through a cheese cloth and store it in the fridge for a host of uses.
I do the very same thing with, meat, and chicken, using all of the trimmings that I would have had trimmed at the butcher, and paid an arm and a leg for and still had to buy a watered down, sodium packed broth to boot!
I also buy my seafood in the rawest form, (save a ton of dough as well) fish, scallops, lobster and shrimp with shells and heads, and create the outstanding broth out of the shells, skins, heads and trimmings. It will shock you at how much these homemade broth's will add to everything you prepare, and you make it fresh, and ****you know what's in it****!! You then control the salt, and everything else.