Food Pairings

food/Artichoke: food pairings

With its ideal companions garlic, onion and shallot, ingredients with sulphurous notes. Try boiled artichoke hearts accompanied with a shallot vinaigrette. It is difficult to find an artichoke recipe without garlic.
With all types of dairy products. One of the perfect pairings. From melted butter to goat’s cheese in different phases of maturity. It also teams up well with creamy sauces, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, feta and pecorino cheese. These are perfect for oven-baked artichokes stuffed with garlic, parsley and pecorino cheese.
With mushrooms. No matter how unoriginal this may seem, artichokes and mushrooms, when pan tossed with oil, garlic and parsley, make a perfect match. The earthiness and umami taste of mushrooms are enhanced and fortified by the presence of artichoke.
The sweet and slightly wild taste of lamb well lends itself to a marriage with artichoke hearts. So do other animal proteins, such as chicken or eggs.
With aromatic herbs such as thyme, parsley, basil and Roman mint. Slight hints of menthol counterbalance the bitter notes.
With the creamy textures and delicious richness of accompaniments like hollandaise sauce and mayonnaise, as well as all of the smoky aromas associated with scamorza cheese or eel which team up well with the hazelnut aftertaste of artichokes.

The most luxurious pairing is with foie gras and truffles, which make a sumptuous stuffing. As conceived by three-starred chef Guy Savoy whose signature dishes include a soup called artichaut à la truffe noir.
Cinnamon and licorice. The anethol contents of liquorice and cinnamon join forces to enhance the sweetness of any ingredient they encounter.
Shellfish and oysters. With clams and shellfish in general, because their brackish notes contribute to mitigating the bitter part of cynarin and to enhancing its sweeter side. The brackish notes of oysters give a further boost to this bitter-sweet effect.
Chocolate, bitter with bitter, followed by something sweet.
Ginger which brings together citrus notes and piquancy, with lemon, orange and lime.