A lovely summer salad, and we’ve got a delightful vegan alternative as well!
One of the women in my life who taught me a lot about cooking, and entertaining, was my father-in-law’s second wife Pat. She was an incredible chef, owning two very popular restaurants in the heart of ski country in southern Vermont – a traditional, elegant French restaurant, and a popular high-end luncheon spot adored by locals. The food was always superb, and the atmosphere at both establishments relaxing and memorable, primarily because of Pat’s inviting touch.
Of course we’ll come to dinner, what time?
You can imagine that dinner or lunch at my in-law’s house was always a treat, even if we had to travel down the mountain in the middle of a snowstorm to get there, more than once. One of Pat’s favorite dishes to make for Sunday lunch was her seafood stuffed artichokes (we’ll talk about the frog’s legs another time). I wish I had a photo of them. They were a hot item at her restaurant, but she absolutely loved making them for family the best. She always used the largest globe artichokes she could find, and serve a whole one to each person, after carefully and tediously digging out the center choke. Stuffed with a delicious seafood combination, these were really special. Of course, you got to nibble on the tender leaf bases once the salad was consumed, the fun part, and she served homemade mayonnaise to dip them in adding to the experience.
I did it, now let’s make some changes
I made the recipe once or twice her way, but of course I have to fiddle with everything. Digging out the choke is not much fun, but if you cook the artichokes first, then split them in half, using a teaspoon, you can easily just lift the whole thing right out. If you mound the salad generously on top, no one will miss the other half!
Save a few bucks
A few other changes over time. I increased the shrimp a bit, and when sea scallops jumped through the roof in price, I substituted roughly diced white fish with little impact on flavor or texture. The budget version actually omits the crab, scallops, and lobster, and the result is really tasty. To reduce the saturated fat, use a vegan (Hellman’s) mayonnaise and non-fat Greek yoghurt. It’s all good. Of course, if you don’t like artichokes, this is a delicious salad served in lettuce cups, or filling a New England split-top bun! And if you are a vegan, we have something special for you at the end as well.
A little different seasoning
Since I have ton of it in the garden right now, I substituted fennel for the dill, but you can use either. I added tarragon as well because it goes so nicely with seafood. My last change was the addition of the lemon zest as well as the juice, and I think it is really needed here. Sometimes I also add a tablespoon or so of crushed capers to the salad which gives it another lift. I couldn’t resist garnishing the whole thing with calendula petals at the end.
A special dish
This is not a cheap dish by any means, and it does take a while to put together, but it’s for special, or when the seafood market has a good deal going on. The tiny shrimp are usually to be found in the freezer section all cleaned for a good price, and you are only using a small amount of the pricey lobster meat. A good plan is to ask your fish monger for a culled lobster (one missing a claw usually at reduced price) or a chick lobster which is very small, and cook it yourself. This is actually a good plan because you’ll have your shells to make a stock to use or freeze, and you know how we love to save those scraps.
A new convert
I made this recently for a Sunday lunch, and my granddaughter made a face and said he hated seafood salad, but would eat the artichoke leaves. I asked her to take just one bite (she’s always willing to do that), and she did, and started laughing. She finished off the now kid-approved salad and the heart and leaves of the artichoke as well. A new convert. She complained there wasn’t much flesh in the leaves and we noticed she was dragging her teeth through the tip and not the base of the leaves! We corrected that little problem, much to her delight.
Artichokes with Sunday Seafood Salad
- 3 or 4 artichokes, you’ll cut them in half
- ½ lemon
- 1 tbsp. butter
- ½ lb. tiny shrimp (U-90)
- ¼ lb. sea scallops, quartered, or bay scallops if in season, or chopped white fish (cod, haddock, etc.)
- ¼ lb. lobster meat, cooked
- ½ lb. crabmeat, cooked
- ¼ cup finely diced red pepper
- ¼ cup finely sliced shallots
- 1 rib celery, finely diced
- ¼ cup finely diced fennel
- 2 tbsp. dry sherry
- 1 tbsp. fennel fronds, minced
- 1 tbsp. tarragon, finely minced
- ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
- ¼ cup non-fat plain Greek yoghurt, or plant based
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Flower petals and herbs for garnish
Cut about an inch off the top of the artichokes and rub with lemon. Trim up the pointy ends of the artichokes and cut off the stem if it is tough, again, rubbing with the lemon to prevent discoloration. Sometimes, the stem is as tender as the heart, other times, as tough as nails, but you can tell by how difficult it is to cut through. I usually toss them in the pot as well since they might soften and be delicious.
Place in a pot with a couple of inches of water and a bit of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook until you can pull an inside leaf easily from the choke. This can take from 30 to 45 minutes. When finished, remove from the water and set aside to cool.
To prepare the fish for the salad. The shrimp will probably be frozen, so let them thaw in the refrigerator. Cut the sea scallops into quarters, or if using a white fish simply chop into small scallop size. Thaw the crabmeat if it is frozen, and chop lobster.
Prep the veggies for the salad. Slice or mince as recipe indicates. You want everything to be quite small.
Prep the dressing. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the yoghurt and mayonnaise as well as the lemon juice and zest, a bit of salt and pepper. Mix well. If you like, add a few crushed capers here as well.
Heat a sauté pan over medium high and add the butter and oil. When the butter stops foaming, add the shrimp, white fish, and scallops, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until everything is tender. This takes just a couple of minutes. Drain, reserve the liquid, and place the fish in the large bowl.
To the same pan, add a bit more oil and sauté the red pepper, shallots, celery, and fennel, just until soft, you don’t want color here, season lightly. Add the sherry, and let it cook off for another minute.
Place the veggies in the bowl with the shrimp and fish, and add the lobster and crab, the fennel fronds, and the tarragon.
Add the dressing and mix everything gently just until combined, season to taste, starting with just a bit of salt.
Stuffing the artichokes. While Pat tediously cored out the innards of the choke and served a whole artichoke to each person, my method is to slice them in half, the choke comes out easily. Then mound the halved artichoke high with the filling. It’s much easier, and you make twice as many servings that are still deliciously satisfying. You’ll have enough filling here for six to eight servings.
Mix the reserved fish cooking liquid with equal parts of melted butter and you can drizzle this over the salad and dunk your leaves in once the salad is consumed. Very tasty.
Budget version:
You can make a lovely version of this dish that is still delightful. Increase the baby shrimp to a pound, and use one pound of a white fish such as cod or haddock, or what you find on sale. You can either cut the fish into small bay-scallop-sized cubes, or shred it, or a combination of both. Poach these and the other half quickly in just a splash of white wine, then shred the second half.
This makes a really good imposter, and much healthier than the chemical and salt filled artificial (not really)crab majesty type of product. Stay away from that!
The Happy Vegan Alternative:
A really nice Seafood Salad can be made using organic, rain forest friendly, canned hearts of palm, diced. For the rest, follow the recipe above, omitting the fish, and adding some lightly crushed capers. Add a few dashes of seaweed flakes to the salad to add a gift from the sea. It’s absolutely delicious served in the artichoke, or on a bed of arugula as I’ve shown here.
From the vintage recipe box:
Pat’s Seafood Stuffed Artichokes
- 6 fresh artichokes
- Seafood salad:
- ¼ lb. cooked shrimp, chopped
- ¼ lb. cooked bay scallops, chopped
- ¼ lb. cooked lobster meat, chopped
- ½ lb. crabmeat
- 2 tbsp finely diced red pepper
- ¼ cup finely minced onion
- 1 rib celery, finely minced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
- ¼ cup good mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- More dill for garnish
- Paprika
Cut off the top of the artichokes, and with a pair of scissors, snip off the ends of the remaining leaves. Flatten the base by cutting off the stem, and using a sharp spoon dig out the center leaves and the choke. Steam for about 30 to 40 minutes, until tender, depending on size. Cool.
Mix salad ingredients, and fill cooled artichokes. Garnish with fresh dill springs and a little paprika.
Note: you can use a prepared seafood salad if good quality ingredients are used, but avoid the fake seafood sticks which are full of chemicals and sodium.
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Such a pretty dish. Is this made with the artichoke also known as Jerusalem artichoke or the one pickled artichoke hearts are made from?
The latter. Jerusalem artichokes are a root from a sunflower plant, and sometimes called sunchokes. These are made from the big globe artichokes.
My mouth was watering as I read through this recipe. Not unusual for me. 😉
Yay for a vegan version! I so appreciate it.
Thanks Laurie! Drooling is absolutely permitted. The vegan version is really good, I hope you give it a try!
Thanks for clarifying that, Dorothy. Plus I never knew that the sunflower plant was the origin of the Jerusalem Artichoke. I have learned something new.
The sunflower that produces the tubers is helianthus tuberosus, it’s not the large headed one. It is native to North America and is foraged in the wild here, as well as cultivated for its roots and also used as a garden perennial. It grows quite tall, but is beautiful this time of year.
https://backyardforager.com/jerusalem-artichokes-sunchokes-helianthus-tuberosus/
Wow. More to learn about the Jerusalem Artichoke. I had a soup made from this vegetable in Sweden one year. It tasted delicious but my tummy found it extremely high in fibre!
Actually the root looks not dissimilar to a ginger tuber. And the flower is like a Coriopsis.
All true!
I would be thrilled to bits to find this lovely food on a plate in front of me. It requires a bit of effort but justified by the result. Being a lover of seafood this is a wonderful dish.
Mary :))
Thank you Mary! It’s one of those dishes that lets the person you are serving it to know you think they are special.
The salad looks delicious and truly is a special meal. Thanks for all the substitution tips.
Thanks Bernie! It was also fun to make.
Artichokes get overlooked oftentimes. 👀🍃
I know! And I don’t know why, they are pretty large!
High praise when a granddaughter likes it. 🙂
It sure is! I’m lucky that she is always willing to take that one bite, and often she likes whatever it is.
Beautiful dish Dorothy!
Thanks Jan! We really enjoyed it.
Wow, D! This is amazing! My mom made artichokes frequently, always delicious but simply prepared in the pressure cooker with a stuffing of bread crumbs, Italian seasonings and a copious amount of grated cheese. Scraping the leaves between my teeth and working my way to the heart made for fun dining every time!
It’s such an odd way to eat a food, isn’t it? Yet, we all love the ritual of it, and the fun, getting to that lovely heart.
I don’t know another food like it!!
I can’t think of anything that compares!
It looks so pretty…artichokes are something I have never used and hardly eaten not because I don’t like them I suppose my mother never used them and maybe thats why…it does look and sound delicious 🙂
Thank you Carol! They really are tasty.
I’m sure this is delicious!
A real treat!
This is such a lovely homage to your mother in law.
Artichokes are a favorite of mine, so I know I would love this dish! The salad must be fabulous on its own. 🙂
Thanks! I love this one and all its variations, especially the vegan version!
I would enjoy these from start to finish! And so beautiful as well!
Thank you Nancy! It’s a delight from the first glance.
It seems complicated–the artichoke, I mean. I don’t think I have the Dorothy factor down well enough to try this one, but as always, it looks very appetizing!
Well, you could try on a bed of greens for a first step!
We love artichokes and these look delicious!
Thank you! It’s like two dishes in one!
So inspiring for our Summer!
A special treat indeed!
For the heat. ☀️
Wow! I’ve never made anything like this! This is why I love blogging.
It was one of Pats signature dishes, and so worth preserving since we all loved it so!
P. S. I loved reading about Pat and your granddaughter.
Ah thanks! Pat was an incredible woman, and I learned so much from her, once I was completely sized up and allowed in her kitchen!
Leola is a good sport and will try any food I offer!
My taste buds are imagining how delicious this must be! Thank you for spelling out what to do with fresh artichokes. Les has never had them (I have), and I wanted to make them for him but had no idea how to cook them. I learn so much in your kitchen! Love the vegan alternative you offered. I made a vegan “ceviche” using hearts of palm, and it is surprisingly appropriate.
Thanks Terrie! I’ve made the vegan version a couple of times, and it’s really tasty. I can totally imagine the ceviche! Great tip.
I was just talking about this on my morning walk. I, personally, like artichokes that come in a jar or can…..but fresh ones, even grilled, left me thinking “Ho-hum” flavor.
When I’m making straight up fresh artichokes, I mix a little lemon juice in the dunking butter and it livens things up. Or, try some sriracha mayonnaise…
Good to know. I had them grilled in a restaurant, and still thought “meh”. 😜
I’m sure you can liven them up Gail! You have the knack!
Summer, Sunday, Salad, Seafood — my absolute favourite kind of eating. This recipe looks fabulous!
Thank you! Some of my favorite Ss all together!
I’m allergic to shrimp, but as all of your dishes, this one looks amazing, Dorothy.
Thank you Mary! I love that this is so versatile and you can make any substitutions you like.
I really like your suggestion to halve the artichoke to get the choke out. It sounds so much easier than trying to poke it out of the whole artichoke.
Looks delicious! Thank you for the vegan alternative. 🙂
You’re very welcome! Love to keep everyone happy.
I love artichokes and this sounds amazing! I love that you cut them in half, great way to make it easier! Beautiful and special~
Jenna
Thanks Jenna! Cutting them in half both stretches them, and makes the whole thing a lot easier to manage. I think it’s also pretty that way!
Sounds delicious Dorothy. Is this salad served warm or at room temperature.
Thank you Karen. I served it room temperature, but the leftovers we ate chilled. It’s good both ways!
The seafood salad looks delicious piled onto those artichokes—such a pretty presentation! 🙂
Thank you Nancy! It’s definitely a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy!
What a great dish to serve to guests, or granddaughters!
Thanks! It really is a treat.
This sounds delicious since I enjoy seafood salads and artichokes.
Thanks Julia! It’s a fun combination. A little extra work, but not difficult and it makes everyone feel special.
Hi Dorothy, this salad looks delicious. How nice that you converted your granddaughter to this family tradition.
I’m lucky that she is a good sport! Always willing to give things a try, at least once.
My parents introduced Nancy and I to artichokes when we were kids and they have always been a family favorite. I’m talking steamed and the leaves dipped in mayonnaise. That’s as fancy as they got but this elevates the artichoke to a whole new level. It might be above my skill set but I do love the idea of it. Maybe my sister and I could tackle it some day? She’s not a cook but she does love artichokes! Hugs, C
It’s really not hard! Cook the artichokes as usual, cut them in half, take out the choke, and fill with the salad, also easy. You can do it for god’s sake, you just drove across a state in the middle of summer with hardly any creature comforts and minimal coffee or comfort. This will be a piece of cake!