Description

Zeytinyağlı enginar — artichokes in olive oil — is perhaps the most elegant of all the zeytinyağlı dishes: whole artichoke hearts, trimmed and cleaned with considerable care, slow-cooked in olive oil with lemon, onion, and dill until they become completely tender and deeply flavored, served cold as a refined meze preparation. It is a dish that rewards the patience required for its preparation with a result of genuine refinement.

The Artichoke in Turkish Cuisine

The artichoke — enginar — is a vegetable of Mediterranean origin, cultivated in Turkey for centuries along the Aegean coast where the climate is ideal for its growth. Turkey is among the world’s leading artichoke producers, and the Aegean coastal regions — particularly the area around Urla and Foça near İzmir — are celebrated for the quality of their artichokes.

Preparing artichokes requires considerable skill and patience — the tough outer leaves must be removed, the fibrous choke scraped away, and the trimmed hearts kept in acidulated water to prevent browning. This labor-intensive preparation means that artichoke dishes carry an implicit statement of care and craft — to make zeytinyağlı enginar for guests is to communicate that you have invested significant time in their enjoyment.

The Olive Oil Braise

The cooking of artichoke hearts in olive oil — gently, with lemon juice and aromatics, over a very low heat — produces a result of extraordinary delicacy. The artichoke hearts become completely tender without falling apart, the olive oil infuses them with richness, the lemon juice preserves their color and provides brightness, and the dill adds a herbal freshness that is the dish’s signature aroma. Served cold with extra olive oil, lemon, and fresh dill, zeytinyağlı enginar is one of those preparations that represents Turkish Aegean cooking at its most refined and most beautiful.

Ingredients

• 4 fresh artichoke bottoms
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• Fresh dill for garnish

Instructions

1. Rub the artichoke bottoms with lemon juice to prevent them from turning black.
2. In a wide, shallow pot, heat a little olive oil and sauté the onion until translucent.
3. Add the diced carrots and potatoes, and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in the peas.
4. Place the artichoke bottoms in the pot, hollow side up. Spoon the vegetable mixture into the centers of the artichokes.
5. In a small bowl, mix the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of water.
6. Pour this mixture into the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes until artichokes are tender.
7. Let them cool in the pot. Serve cold, garnished with fresh dill.