Cardoons: how to cook them, clean them and the best recipes

Let's find out how to cook cardoons, the best recipes to prepare and, obviously, how to clean them perfectly. This vegetable will no longer have secrets!

Thistles are a winter vegetable with a somewhat awkward shape, similar to large celery stalks. Their flavour, which is reminiscent of artichokes, makes them suitable for many recipes: they can be cooked au gratin, or to prepare delicious veloutés and soups. Their death, however, is definitely fried !

Cleaning them can be a bit tedious, because you need to have a little patience, but with the method we are going to illustrate you can do it without difficulty . After seeing all the secrets of their cleaning we will see how to cook cardoons with all the best recipes.

• How to clean thistles
• How to cook cardoons
• Recipes with thistles

How to clean thistles

1. First of all we need to understand how to clean the thistles. First, remove the leaves and the ends, which you will have to throw away.
2. Prepare a bowl containing water and lemon juice, because cardoons "behave" a bit like their artichoke cousins : they oxidize very quickly. To avoid getting your hands dirty, use kitchen gloves.
3. Cut them lengthwise into large strips, approximately 15 cm long and 4 cm wide. Dip them gradually in water and lemon .

Here is a short video with all the steps regarding cleaning (and cooking) this vegetable.

How to cook cardoons

1. Immerse the cut cardoons in water (you can also reduce the size of the pieces if you prefer), then bring to the boil and cook for about 30 minutes .
2. When the cardoons are softer, drain them. You'll know they're ready when you can easily pierce them with a fork.
3. Now, with the help of a small knife, pull away the long filaments . You will have to have a little patience, but you will see that they will come off immediately!

To reduce the cooking times of the cardoons a little (which are around 30 minutes) we recommend that you try boiling the cardoons in a pressure cooker (it will only take 15/20 minutes), but if you don't have one, use a normal pot .

The best recipes with cardoons

For a quick side dish, you can simply season the boiled cardoons with oil, lemon and if you want with balsamic vinegar , and eat them plain. Alternatively, cook them for another 10 minutes in a pan with tomato sauce: the stewed cardoons will conquer everyone!

Then, they are excellent for preparing soups, veloutés and stews, even in combination with other vegetables (peas, potatoes, onions etc.). They are also delicious in stews, with sausage, with meat stew and in flans, quiches and savory pies. Cardoons can also be cooked in the oven, with béchamel sauce and breadcrumbs, a bit like you do with fennel or broccoli .

And, finally, they are delicious fried: just dip them in any type of batter (even beer), and then fry them in boiling oil. Here are our best recipes for cooking cardoons!

1. Fried cardoons
2. Gratin cardoons
3. Cardoon parmigiana
4. Cardoon flan
5. Thistle cream soup

Fried cardoons

We cannot deny that among the recipes with cardoons, this is our favorite! Fried cardoons are a very popular dish in Sicily . If you are not familiar with this vegetable from the artichoke family, this is a good way to start enjoying it. You will need:

• 600 g of cardoons
• 300 g of 0 flour
• Water to taste
• 1 sachet of instant yeast for savory preparations
• seed oil for frying to taste
• salt to taste
• lemon to taste

Dip the boiled and chopped cardoons in a batter made with beaten eggs, flour and a pinch of salt. Dip in boiling oil until golden and lift with a slotted spoon. They will win you over!

Gratin cardoons

We prefer a lighter recipe , you can instead try the cardoons au gratin . For this dish, we will cook them in the oven with a wonderful béchamel sauce and cheese. Here are the necessary ingredients:

• 600 of clean thistles
• 400 ml of bechamel
• 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated cheese
• butter to taste
• salt to taste
• 1 lemon

Butter a baking dish and spread the boiled cardoons. Cover them with the béchamel sauce and then finish with a mix of cheese and breadcrumbs as well as a few flakes of butter. Cook at 190°C for about 30 minutes and let cool before enjoying.

Cardoon parmigiana

Don't get us wrong: the recipe with aubergines is unbeatable. But among our recipes with cardoons we wanted to try something different and so we thought we'd offer you the recipe for cardoon parmigiana . Here are the ingredients to make it:

• 1 kg of cardoons cleaned and boiled
• 200 g of onion
• 3 mozzarella
• Parmigiano Reggiano to taste
• salt to taste
• seed oil to taste
• 0 flour to taste
• 1 clove of garlic
• olive oil to taste

The preparation is not very different from the classic recipe: flour and fry the boiled cardoons until golden brown. Prepare a sauce with onion, garlic and puree and cut the mozzarella into cubes; then layer all the ingredients on a baking tray: cook in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25-30 minutes .

Cardoon flan

Cardoon flans will not be the first dish that comes to mind when it comes to organizing a dinner, but they can prove to be a tasty and original appetizer . Here are the ingredients:

• 500 g of cleaned cardoons
• 500 ml of béchamel to taste
• 4 eggs
• 50 g of grated parmesan
• Salt and pepper to taste

The preparation of this recipe with cardoons is very simple: boil the boiled cardoons then blend them together with béchamel sauce and eggs. Add the grated cheese, season with salt and pepper and distribute into the baking cups. Cook in a bain-marie at 180°C for 50 minutes.

Thistle cream soup

We now come to a first course with cardoons that is truly light and perfect in a period of great binges for a bit of detox : the velouté . We used frozen peas, which are available all year round, but clearly when it's in season you can use fresh ones. You will need:

• 800 g of cardoons, boiled
• 2 small potatoes
• 100g frozen fine peas
• 1 small white onion
• vegetable broth to taste
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Chop the onion and brown it in a pan with a little oil. Then add the frozen fine peas, the boiled cardoons, the peeled potatoes cut into small pieces. Cover with the broth heated separately and cook for half an hour. When the potatoes are cooked, blend everything and thicken if necessary; season with extra virgin olive oil, pepper and salt and season.

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