Monterey >> If you’re going to live in the artichoke capital of the world, you might as well take advantage of it.
The 56th annual Castroville Artichoke Food and Wine Festival returns to the Monterey County Fair and Event Center on Saturday and Sunday. A country music concert series has been added this year to complement the usual fare of culinary creations, wine tasting, field tours, fruit and vegetable art, a farmers market and chef demonstrations.
We are in the peak season for artichokes, declared in 2013 as California’s state vegetable. Nearly all of America’s artichokes come from the state, and more than two-thirds of those come from Castroville.
Now is an especially good time for baby artichokes, said Pat Hopper, manager of the California Artichoke Advisory Board.
“Baby artichokes are the newest thing,” she said.
The name is a bit misleading, though. Baby artichokes, which are a little smaller than your fist, are really dwarfs — fully mature artichokes that are pint-sized because they are harvested from lower on the plant.
They’re popular because once you pull off the outer petals, you can eat the whole thing, as they haven’t developed the fuzzy portion at the center (that would be the choke). Make sure you trim off the stem, which can be bitter.
For full-sized artichokes, you should keep those stems, which are a tender extension of the heart. If you’re making a lot of artichokes, you can cut off the stems and cook them separately, taking a peeler to the outer layer. Once they cool, put them in the freezer to be used later in soups or dips, Hopper suggests.
And speaking of dips, there’s no end to what you can create to go with your artichoke.
“A lot of times, when people talk about artichoke recipes, they’re talking about the dip,” Hopper said.
Preferences vary by region. On the East Coast, people like to use butter with a little garlic in it. Here on the West Coast, it’s mayonnaise concoctions, she said.
Hopper likes mixing in pesto sauce that’s been frozen. One of her friends, from China, mixes in soy sauce, while another friend uses tamari sauce. Her husband uses a salad herb dressing mix. “It’s really anything you like,” she said.
And this time of year, grilling is the way to go. Steam them first, since you’re grilling not to cook them but to add that smoky flavor. You can tell they’re done when you can easily pull out a petal with tongs about two layers in. Hopper likes to marinate her artichokes in a balsamic vinaigrette up to a day before throwing them on the grill.
How do you pick a good artichoke in the first place?
The most important thing is weight.
“Size doesn’t matter unless I want a really big one for drama,” Hopper said. “I pick an artichoke that’s heavy for its size.”
You should make sure the center petals are tight (loose outer leaves aren’t a big deal). You can also look for signs of dehydration.
“Take a petal and pull it back a little bit, and you’ll notice there are some wrinkles from the tip of the petal down to the base,” Hopper said. “You don’t want the edible portion to be wrinkled. That indicates it’s dehydrated.”
Hopper will be giving a chef demo called “A-B-C’s of Artichokes” at 11 a.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Other demos will be led by chefs including Tony Baker of Montrio Bistro, Dyon Foster of Hahn Estates, Terry Teplitzky of Wild Thyme Deli and Café, and KGO-radio’s Ryan Scott, a “Top Chef” season 4 contestant.
Festival tickets are $5-$10 and are available at the fairgrounds or www.artichokefestival.org.
Concert tickets are sold separately, and are $25 for Saturday and $15 for Sunday. The lineup includes Dallas Smith, winner of the 2015 JUNO Award Country Album of the Year; Chris Janson, one of Rolling Stone’s top “New Artists You Need to Know”; and acclaimed Canadian trio High Valley.
The festival’s main sponsor is Castroville-based Ocean Mist Farms, the largest artichoke grower in the U.S. For recipes and more tips on preparing and cooking artichokes, see www.oceanmist.com.
Contact Jeannie Evers at 726-4340.
