Why are the cardoon stalks rubbed with lemon and placed in water with vinegar?

Cardoons darken quickly in the air. Lemon and a little vinegar in cold water prevent them from browning before boiling.

Why are the cardoons boiled twice?

A first boil of 15 minutes in boiling, salted water makes it easy to rub off the outer skin with a clean cloth. Then the stalks are moved to cold, salted water and boiled until tender.

How is the dish served?

The stalks are cut into 6 cm long pieces and served with a good white sauce. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 370, and is calculated for 4 servings with about 75 minutes total time.

Cardoons à l'anglaise

Name: Cardoons à l'anglaise
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 1 kg cardoons (leaf stalks); 1 pcs lemon (for rubbing the stalks and acidulating the water); 2 tbsp vinegar (for the water, can be replaced with lemon juice); 2 l water (for boiling); 2 tsp salt; 4 dl white sauce (a good white sauce for serving)

Erken 1914: cardoon stalks (the celery-like ribs of a thistle vegetable) cut into 6 cm pieces, rubbed with lemon, placed in acidulated water, blanched 15 min, the outer skin rubbed off, boiled tender in salted water and served with a white sauce.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 370 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

The cardoon (cardon) is a thistle-like vegetable of the same family as the artichoke, cultivated for its fleshy leaf stalks. Erken explains in the preceding column that cardoons must always be blanched before the actual cooking in order to remove all slime. The vegetable was known in Norwegian upper-class kitchens and cookbooks around 1900, but is little used in Norway today.

How to make it

1
Clean the cardoons
Remove the leaves and cut the stalks into 6 cm long pieces.
2
Rub with lemon
Rub the pieces with a cut lemon and place them immediately in cold water with a little vinegar or lemon juice added, so they do not darken.
3
Blanch
Put the pieces in boiling, salted water and let them cook, covered, for 15 minutes.
4
Remove the outer skin
Take the pieces out, lay them on a cloth and rub them over with a clean cloth so the outer skin comes off.
5
Boil tender
Put the stalks back over the fire in cold, salted water and boil them until they are tender.
6
Serve
Serve the cardoons with a good white sauce.

Changes from the original

Amounts are estimated where the original does not give them (Erken lists only the ingredients). "del." is interpreted as deciliter. The method is divided into numbered steps and written in modern Norwegian; otherwise unchanged.

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Frequently asked questions

Why are the cardoon stalks rubbed with lemon and placed in water with vinegar?: Cardoons darken quickly in the air. Lemon and a little vinegar in cold water prevent them from browning before boiling.
Why are the cardoons boiled twice?: A first boil of 15 minutes in boiling, salted water makes it easy to rub off the outer skin with a clean cloth. Then the stalks are moved to cold, salted water and boiled until tender.
How is the dish served?: The stalks are cut into 6 cm long pieces and served with a good white sauce. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 370, and is calculated for 4 servings with about 75 minutes total time.

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