Cardoon Gratin Recipe Video

GETTING READY
1. Begin with rubbing your hands with lemon and then start cleaning the cardoons. The reason is the cardoon tends to make your hands turn black, especially the fingers.
2. Cut the base and then remove and separate all the stalks and trim any small leaves, remove the strings with the help of a small knife.
3. Then cut the cardoon into pieces and soak in acidulated water, which is with lemon juice, to keep from turning brown.

MAKING
4. Wash the cardoon under cold running water and put in a pot with salted water to boil for 25 to 30 minutes, the cardoon should be cooked yet still crunchy.
5. Once the cardoons are cooked, drain and let them cool a bit.
6. Prepare the béchamel sauce: In saucepan melt butter add the flour and stir until it turns brown, then add the milk, salt, pepper and the nutmeg. When the sauce thickens remove from heat and keep it aside.
7. Grease the baking pan with butter and coat with breadcrumbs. Arrange the cardoons one next to the other to form the first layer, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and spread a bit of béchamel sauce, continue until all the cardoons are over.
8. Top it with butter and bake at 390°F (180°C) for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on the surface.

SERVING
9. Serve the cardoons au gratin hot.

TIPS
Cleaning the cardoons is more or less like peeling celery.

You can cook the cardoons, in a pressure cooker you'll need about 15 minutes, while with a normal pot it will take 25 to 30 minutes,