Cardoon is one rare and unusual vegetable from the thistle family and is much similar to artichokes. The name, cardoon, was derived from the Latin “carduus” and, later, from the French “chardon”, which means thistle.
Cardoon hearts are as delicious as artichoke hearts, and are perenially grown for its ‘hearts’. This prickly artichoke was considered a delicacy in Greeks and Romans.
The leaf stalks are eaten in Spain,south of France and Italy and taste similar to celery, but like artichokes the flowers of cardoons cannot be eaten. In Italy and Spain the cardoon heads are collected for making cheese and the young buds are blended with vinegar and the preservative brine, seasonings and silphium to make pickles. The fleshy stalks resembles celery and has the bittersweet flavor of the artichokes. Cardoons were used by the Romans as the chief ingredient in salads and stews. The Italian cardoons can be eaten raw but Americans prefer to eat the cardoons raw to remove the bitter taste from it.
Cardoons are very pricky therefore they should be carefully handled, the surface of the cardoons should be smoothened by a carrot scraper, and it should be boiled in water, with salt, lemon juice and vinegar to remove its bitterness. Cardoons can be simply sauteed with salt, pepper, herbs and tomatoes; or the tender cardoons can be pulverized,breaded and fried like cutlets and served with anchovy sauce.
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