Chickpea Antipasto Salad

In the kitchen, there is the sound of a ticking clock. From the open sliding door on my right, the leaves rustling in the breeze. The high today is seventy-one degrees. The last time I could say that was probably early April, and it feels like a treat. 

We had no idea what to expect when we arrived in McCall. Boise is surrounded by golden dry hills, the city itself an sprawl of big box department stores. But the further north you go the more trees you find, and the grasses begin to turn green. As you coast down the road into McCall's center you spot Lake Payette, like a gem in the rough. 

Here, I'm going to be soaking up the cooler weather -- currently drinking orange cinnamon tea - but back home, I'm still defaulting to no-cook, no-bake, minimal effort meals, like this Chickpea Antipasto Salad. 

This dish is a bit like pasta salad, minus the pasta, and all you do is mix. That's right: skip the oven, skip the stove, and even skip dishes -- it's a one-bowl wonder. 

Antipasto pasta salad is a picnic classic, with olives, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese. But I wanted to make a version that didn’t use pasta. Something gluten-free with more nutrients per bite. Chickpeas are the perfect option here — they have a starchy quality that makes them a good filler, though they are also filling, more so than pasta, and in a good way. So there you have it, a way to fill those pasta salad cravings when you don’t want to fill your stomach with pasta.

You can make this salad ahead of time and chill it. Served over a few fresh lettuce leaves, it makes for a great make-ahead lunch in the middle of summer! Or, put everything in a large serving dish and tote your chickpea antipasto salad along to a potluck.

Chickpea Antipasto Salad

Published August 23, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4-6   |    Active Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 sixteen-ounce cans chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 cup artichoke hearts, quartered and drained

1/2 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained

1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives, pitted and drained

1/3 cup pesto

1/4 cup fresh basil, minced

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup feta crumbles

Optional: serve over a bed of butterhead lettuce

Directions:

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir to combine.
2. Serve immediately, or make a day ahead of time, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Optionally, serve over a bed of butterhead lettuce leaves.

Spring Sauté with New Potatoes, Peas, Leeks & Artichokes

Really, any excuse to eat artichokes is valid in my book, at any time of year. In the winter and early spring, this means making do with canned or marinated artichokes. I say "making do" because the alternative is fresh, but marinated artichokes aren’t necessary lesser than their fresh counterpart. Just different.

So while artichokes aren't ready to be harvested yet, the canned variety still feels perfect in this moment. Leeks, with a mellow onion flavor, get caramelized in the bottom of the pan until they're sweet. Young potatoes and peas add a light starchiness to this dish -- making it satisfying on soggy spring days (it has been raining here all week) or warm ones.

Hope you enjoy! 

Spring Sauté with New Potatoes, Peas, Leeks & Artichokes

Published May 24, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
• 1 leek, roots and dark green pieces removed, and washed well
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced young potatoes
• 1 cup fresh or frozen english peas
• 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, halved or quartered, drained
• Salt & ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat butter/oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.
2. Slice leek into thin rounds, and add to pan. Sauté until leeks are softened.
3. Add minced garlic, diced potatoes, and peas to the pan, and cover. Cook, stirring every 3-4 minutes, until potatoes are softened through.
4. Add artichoke hearts and cook for 2 minutes more, until artichokes are warmed through. Season to taste with salt & pepper and serve hot.

Artichoke & Provolone Soup

This soup is California to me. It is first and foremost, a reminder of the road trips my mom and I would take down the Californian coast when I was a kid, and the soup she always told me has her favorite: Artichoke Provolone. Of course, almost all of artichokes sold commercially in the US are grown in California... it's climate is just sublimely artichoke-y. 

There is a part of California that has always been subtly homey to me; My grandparents owned a small farm in the northern part of the state for most of my life, and I would visit over the summer to chase the chickens around. There were always plenty of hugs. My grandmother and I would play solitaire in the dated kitchen. Sometimes we would walk to the grocery store or go to the swimming pool. The days were bright and our kitchen was full of warmth.

When you take canned artichoke hearts and you blend them into a creamy soup the result is surprisingly bright. There are notes of acidic lemon, the nuttiness of the artichoke and the full, creamy body of the soup itself, thanks to a healthy heaping of cheese and potatoes. It is bright, and full of warmth. 

My last trip to California started as a business trip but ended very personal with a visit to my grandmother in the hospital. As luck would have it, I was waiting for inspiration to write and share this recipe on that very day: a bowl of artichoke provolone soup was exactly what was needed. 

Artichoke & Provolone Soup

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

If you love artichokes, this creamy soup is a must-try.

Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 33 ounce jar of artichoke hearts (I get this by the 2-pack at Costco)
• 1 pound white potatoes (3 medium sized)
• 4 cups broth
• 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
• 1 white onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• Salt & pepper
• 1 cup shredded provolone (3/4 for soup, 1/4 for garnish)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Optional: More artichokes for garnish
• Optional: More cream for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter over medium heat on the stove. Dice onion, and add to the pot. Mince the garlic, and add that as well. Stir. Cook until onions are translucent.
2. Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes. Add diced potatoes to the pot, then add artichokes, and a few cracks of salt & pepper. Pour broth into pot, and cover. Bring to gentle boil. Cook until potatoes are tender all the way through: about 10-15 minutes (test them with a fork occasionally).
3. Working in batches, transfer soup to a high-speed blender and puree until smooth (I use a BlendTec , which is really good at getting all of the artichoke pureed. I’ve also tried with an immersion blender, and it works but the artichoke does not get blended as well).
4. Return soup to pot. Stir in cheese and creamy, allowing the cheese to melt as you do. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, topped with additional cheese, a drizzle of cream, artichokes, and a crack of fresh pepper.