Artichoke Hearts with Bottarga

"So you made pizza with zucchini and what?" This is what I asked my brother when he told me to check  out his pizza on My Monday Pie.  Zucchini and bottarga.  "What's bottarga again?  A new and trendy, terrain-specific vegetable like say ramps?" Nope. Cured mullet roe.

I have since sampled this pie and it was very good.  It left me bottarga intrigued.  What else can I pair it with?  Where can I get it?  And why have I gone so long without it?  

Then one lazy evening I am watching Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations on Netflix and he is traveling in Sardinia.  His beautiful wife is describing the dynamic flavor combination of artichokes and bottarga in her lovely Italian accent. The next thing I know I am surfing the internet, planning my next shopping trip around where I can get bottarga.

As mentioned, bottarga is the roe removed from the inside of a fish, in this case mullet, though sometimes tuna, cured, dried and grated over a dish for flavor much like you would Parmesan.  Also like Parmesan, you can buy it whole and grate it yourself right before serving or buy it already grated. 

I may have mentioned this before but Buon'Italia is my go-to Italian market of choice in NYC.  I love  Chelsea Market and this is a wonderful time of year to walk the High Line.   There is always the famous Eataly but Buon'Italia is less of a circus show and more reasonably priced.  And have I mentioned the High Line?  

I may have gotten carried away here with the pictures, but artichokes are beautiful and so is Manhattan.

Artichoke Hearts with Bottarga

• 6 artichokes
• 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of grated bottarga
• chopped fresh parsley
• butter

To trim your artichokes, remove the outer leaves until they start to become yellow and tender.  The heart will be cone-shaped.  Cut the hearts in halves or quarters.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.   In an oven-proof baking dish, toss with the artichoke hearts with the olive oil and parsley.   Add a few teaspoons of water to the bottom of the baking dish.  Grease a piece of parchment paper with butter and   place butter side down over the artichokes.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Toss with freshly squeezed lemon, sea salt and grated bottarga.