Cardi are popular all over Italy, but especially in Sicily and in Piemonte, at opposite ends of the country. In Sicily it is cooked as a side dish (contorno) and served with pasta, whereas in Piemonte it is used in soups and stuffings and dipped in bagna cauda. In truffle season, all cardi dishes are served with shavings of white truffles. The prized cardoon of Piemonte—essential if serving with truffle—is the cardo gobbo di Nizza, the tender white cardoon that never sees light. Here is the baked cardoon gratinate I prepare at home with the conventionally grown cardoons available in American markets. The dish is delightful as is, but if you happen to have a white truffle lying around, give it a shave over the gratinate before serving.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4 to 6

　　1 lemon

　　2 pounds cardoon, 1 small head or the inner stalks of a large head

　　6 tablespoons butter, or as needed

　　1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or as needed

　　About 2/3 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, or as needed

　　

Recommended Equipment

A sharp knife and vegetable peeler for trimming cardoon stalks

　　A 2-quart baking dish or shallow casserole, 8 by 11 inches or similar size

　　

Step 1

Before trimming the cardoon head, fill a large bowl with 1 1/2 quarts cold water, squeeze in the juice of the lemon, and drop in the cut lemon halves.

　　

Step 2

Snap off the outer stalks at the base, discarding any bruised or tough and overmature stalks (usually 4 inches or wider). Keep separating stalks until you get to the heart, a pale cluster of tender stalks and leaves. Trim the base of the heart stalks so they separate, cut crosswise in 3-inch pieces, and drop in the acidulated water.

　　

Step 3

Now trim the larger, separated stalks one at a time. First peel or cut the long edges, removing all the sharp-pointed leaves (they get softer on inner stalks). Trim the top and base of the stalk, as with celery, and pull up the strings that run along the outside. Shave off the remaining fuzzy skin with the vegetable peeler. Finally, remove the pale, transparent skin that covers the inside: lift it at one end with the knife point, and peel away in long ribbons. Cut the trimmed stalk crosswise into 3-inch pieces, and immerse them in the lemon water while you cut up the rest.

　　

Step 4

Bring 3 quarts water to the boil in a large saucepan. Lift the cardoon pieces from the lemon water, drop into the pot, and cook until soft and tender (and to extract some bitterness), at least 30 minutes, and an hour or more for thick pieces. Remove the pieces as each is done (heart pieces first), and drain in a colander. Preheat the oven to 375˚. Smear 2 tablespoons or so of the butter on the bottom and sides of the baking dish, coating it generously. Melt the remaining butter. Lay cardoon pieces flat in the dish, covering the bottom in a single layer; sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon salt and 4 tablespoons grated cheese all over, and drizzle 2 tablespoons melted butter over that. Make another layer of cardoon (or two more, if you have lots of pieces), and top with salt, cheese, and butter. Sprinkle 1/3 cup grated cheese on the top layer of cardoon, or more, covering it completely.

　　

Step 5

Lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the dish, and crimp it loosely against the sides. Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake another 10 minutes, until the cardoon is lightly caramelized and bubbling and the gratinate topping is golden. Serve hot.

　　

Cardoons in Our Markets

Step 6

California-grown cardoons (sometimes called cardone) appear in our supermarkets in the winter months. The large heads are gray-green and resemble giant heads of celery. They won’t be crisp like celery, but should look fresh and feel heavy and moist. However, they often have many tough stalks, which I discard completely. A rough rule of thumb is to buy 1 pound of cardi for each two portions. To minimize discard, try to buy several lighter cardoon heads, 2 1/2 pounds or under, rather than one big head, to get a greater proportion of slender, inner stalks. In any case, you’ll need to trim the stalks and parcook them as detailed in the recipe.

　　From Lidia's Italy by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Copyright (c) 2007 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Published by Knopf.Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York.