Growing up, eating artichokes meant simmering them until tender and serving them with a dip of mayonnaise mixed with a bit of soy sauce. Had we been hip to it at the time, we might have called it a soy aioli, but to us it was just the perfect creamy salty accompaniment to those boiled leaves and still, to this day, I can’t eat artichoke leaves without it. Luckily, my artichoke repertoire has expanded ever so slightly beyond boiled leaves.
At FCI we prepare artichokes by ‘turning’ them, or removing all the outer leaves and using a paring knife to remove the green skin until you’re left with the tender heart of the artichoke. Once you have the heart, you can braise, roast, grill or do just about anything you want with it. Currently, in the restaurant at FCI, we serve slivers of braised artichoke heart with a roasted rack of lamb. They are delicious.
One of the perks of working on set at a cooking show is the opportunity to bring home the occasional excess produce. Once the segment is complete, the produce that was used to dress the set is usually still perfectly good, but won’t be visually appealing if saved for another shoot on another day. After the crew has been fed and talent takes what they want, the rest is up for grabs. I am very lucky to be working on these shows as the spring season rolls in and great produce such as asparagus, dandelion greens, spring onions, and of course artichokes, are the topic du jour. I made off with a few artichokes last week and while I was craving my mother’s simmered artichoke with ‘soy aioli’ I decided to broaden my artichoke horizon a bit more and see what I could come up with.
Enter Plenty, the new cookbook from Yotam Ottolenghi. I won’t say much about the book today, because I am smitten with the recipes and have a feeling that you may be hearing a lot about it over the coming weeks. Just know this: If you’re looking for some inspiration in the vegetable department, you are sure to find it in this book. I found mine when a relish of fava beans jumped off the page at me via some gorgeous photography. Favas are my ultimate harbinger of spring and they seemed the perfect accompaniment to the artichokes I had waiting. And a little hint about that other accompaniment I love so much? Hold on to the leaves you remove from the artichoke. Simmered over low heat they go very nicely with a little soy aioli.
I am providing the recipe here as Ottolenghi wrote it, but I was out of panko so I used a mix of walnut flour and whole wheat flour to bread the artichoke hearts. Use whatever, even plain old flour works well too.
Globe Artichokes with Crushed Fava Beans
Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
1 3/4 cups shelled fava beans
1 small garlic clove, crushed
4 T extra-virgin olive oil plus more for frying
Freshly ground black pepper
1½ t Maldon sea salt
2-3 globe artichokes
3 lemons
1 egg, beaten
3 T panko
3 T fresh mint, chopped
2 T fresh dill, chopped
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the beans and blanch for three minutes. Drain, refresh and leave in a colander to dry. Remove the outer skins by pressing each bean gently between your thumb and forefinger. Put the shelled beans in the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic, four tablespoons of oil, some black pepper and half a teaspoon of salt, then pulse until just roughly chopped – don’t overdo it.
Cut off most of the stalk from the artichokes and pull off the tough outer leaves. Once you reach the softer, pale leaves, trim off the top, so you're left with the heart and some very soft leaves around it. Scrape off any remaining tough leaves and the 'hairs' in the center. Rub with a cut lemon to keep the artichokes from turning brown.
Bring a pan of water to a boil, drop in the artichokes and simmer until a knife cuts easily through the flesh, seven to 10 minutes. Drain and dry on paper towels. Put the artichokes in a bowl with the beaten egg, mix, then lift them into a bowl filled with the panko and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and coat them well.
Add enough oil to a pan to come 1 1/4 inches up the side. Heat until almost smoking. Fry the artichokes until golden, for about four minutes, turning them as you go. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
Put the fava bean mixture in a bowl and stir in the chopped herbs and the juice of a lemon. Spoon some of this over each serving plate, top with an artichoke heart and spoon more of the beans on top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve with a lemon wedge, if desired.
The sketch is bad, but it was a quicky drawing after a whole morning of laborious thought for me to go off of and reference as I made my pattern and mock ups. It has a shallow scoop neckline because that is an oft seen style in the 20's and is also more flattering to me than other styles. It has a front opening because I need nursing access and I didn't want to make a seperate nursing panel. (Most dresses from this period I have seen pictures of open in the back). The lining will be darted to fit and the outer layer will be gathered over the fitted lining. It has moderate size gigot sleeves. (Is there a different name for moderate size gigot sleeves??) I don't need huge sleeves and besides taking more fabric I think the bigger sleeves look ridiculous! I am comfortable with this size but would not go any bigger. At least theoretically on paper. It will have a waistband which will open to a dogleg closure and the skirt will be 3 panels of fabric gathered or gauged to the waistband. The skirt hem is to end just above the ankle, a good "active style" length.
Then it was time to decide what fabric to use. I decided to use this pretty cream and pink cotton print that David gave me for Christmas last year. It is not exactly historically accurate but it is pretty. He will be pleased I am finally using it. I first tore 3 panels for the skirt, full width and 38" long. I then tore a strip full width and 2.5" wide for the waistband. I then folded the width in half lengthwise and positioned my bodice pieces on it and cut them out.
After I cut both sleeves, I cut off the little folded piece and added 1" allowance to the cut edge. I cut four of these pieces from scrap. They will be sewn to the sleeves to get the finished shape and I don't think the seams will be very noticeable. This method allowed me to get both sleeves from 31" of fabric - half of what it would have taken if I had folded the fabric lengthwise and cut both sleeves on the fold that way! 
Out of the remaining 1/3 yard of fabric I cut a multitude of bias strips for piping. I plan to pipe all the bodice seams, the waistband and the sleeve seams.
I threaded the machine and laid everything out so whenever I get the chance I can start sewing the bodice pieces together!
This morning I tried the bodice on inside out and pinned it shut down the front. I took up darts in the lining fabric only and pinned them in place. Most original gowns I've seen have only one dart on each side of the front but I had so much extra fabric at the waist, I really had to make two darts on each side to get the right contour to the bust and for everything to lay nicely. 
*Note: It is usually not recommended that you pin in darts with your inside out bodice on you. This is because when you turn your bodice right sides out, the side you fitted to, for example, your left bust, will now be on your right bust, and vice versa. If your body is noticeably different on either side, it is highly recommened that you make all darts in a muslin and transfer the muslin to paper, clearly marking "left" and "right" so your final product will fit correctly. I hate bothering with this so I never do it. But for those of you who want to take the time to fit something perfectly, this is what is suggested to do.
Once the darts were pinned I sewed them in place. Then I gathered the outer fabric down over the darts, and sewed on the waistband. I left 1/2" extending on either edge - the cut edge of the waistband is not flush with the finished bodice edge. This is so later I can turn it to the inside and cover it with the inner waistband. 
I was getting a little tired of working on the dress by this time but thought I should at least pipe the armscyes on the bodice, so I did. I then ran gathering stitches across the tops of the sleeves and drew them up. And that was all I cared to do at the time. Next up is sewing the sleeves into the bodice and then turning my thoughts to the skirt. . .
Love,
To close, the skirt is first fastened and the bodice then lapped and fastened. This is how it will look when it is shut: 
I then tore a scrap of white cotton into a strip 2.5" wide and about 34" long to use as the waistband facing. I pressed under 1/2" on all raw edges and laid it wrong side down over the waistband on the inside of the dress. I pinned it to the seam lines, enclosing the seam allowances. Here, it is just pinned but since this time I have slip stitched most of the waistband facing to the waistband. 
Then to get an idea of what the dress will look like when it is finished, I put it on my homemade dressform (who is in urgent need of re-shaping and re-stuffing) and pinned it shut. I'm happy with how it looks so far! The skirt is gathered in the front just under the bust gathers per an original dress I've seen photos of (I have pics of the original dress on my Sangamon Settler blog, if anyone wants to see it - it is lovely!) The sides of the skirt are ungathered for a few inches on each side and the back is very tightly gathered. 
Now I must finish attaching the waistband facing and make the hem and the dress is ready for fasteners! :)
Then, the facing was pressed up inside the skirt and pinned in place. A teeny bit of skirt fabric was turned under as well, just so there is no danger of the white facing showing from the outside! :) I used a running stitch with small stitches on the outside and larger ones on the inside to attach the facing by hand. 
This is a quick and easy way to do a hem and can be done on any rectangular skirt. The hem facing will also take the abuse of wear and can be replaced once it gets dingy and dirty (I have done this before!) thus protecting the dress fabric from getting tatty at the hem prematurely.
