2 words. HUGE. FLAVORS. I made the mistake of going to the market the day before restocking and the pickings were slim. I saw, amidst the barren wasteland, a box of baby artichokes. Why the hell not? I had never worked with them before but I presumed they were to be treated similarly to their larger cousins, and I started thinking of things to do with them.
After last night’s steaktastic monster salad, and the fact that I knew artichoke and lemon was a solid profile, I decided on a lighter protein, and opted for the dependably versatile (and cheap!) bluefish. Last time I wrapped it in bacon, which was awesome, but I thought it might be a bit much for this application. So, once again, I went lighter, and used the prosciutto San Danielle, which I find a little less salty and intense than bacon or Parma.
I started by trimming the baby artichokes down to almost the heart and slicing them in half. Then, in a bowl, I dressed them with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, then grilled them for a few minutes to develop their flavor a bit.
I set them aside, then melted 2tbs butter and olive oil each in a pan and sauteed minced garlic, crushed red pepper, green olives, and capers. When they were fragrant and lightly toasted, I deglazed with about a cup and a half of white wine. After that reduced by about half, I added the artichokes to the pan, turned the heat to low, and got to prepping the fish. The artichokes need about 20 minutes to get tender.
The fish was the easy part. I dusted the fillets with lemon pepper then wrapped them in a a layer of prosciutto all the way round. Those got pan-grilled for 4 minutes per side, until a fork inserted for 8 seconds came out warm to the lips.
I plated the artichokes with a generous amount of their cooking liquid, then added the fish, and finally some super fresh balsamic-dressed mache for color, texture, sweetness, and to cut it a bit.
The end result was off the charts, albeit a little salty (less prosciutto next time?). Give it a shot when you want a paleo meal that is at once light and intensely flavorful. Cheers!
