Below is the recipe I was lucky enough to make with Stephanie Izard of Girl & The Goat. Definitely making this for Easter this weekend!

Artichoke Fideos with Fresh Mozzarella and Dill

Serves 4 as an entrée, 8 as an appetizer

Fideos is a Spanish term for pasta, and in Spain, it refers to very thin vermicelli-like noodles that are cut short and used in dishes in place of rice. It sounds pretty simple, but what makes fideos so delicious is that the noodles are first toasted to bring on a nice nutty flavor, then slowly cooked in broth rather than boiled in water. In this method, they soak up the flavor of the broth, and don’t really need anything else. 

At Scylla, we served a version of a very classic shrimp fideos, where we cooked the noodles in a light shrimp stock, then tossed the shrimp back into the dish and broiled it for a bit to get a bit of crispiness on the top just before sending it out to the table. For this recipe, I wanted to really celebrate the flavor of the artichoke by following the same method, but with a stock made from the scraps left over after cleaning the artichokes to their heart. It always feels so wasteful to me to discard the leaves after cleaning them. They’re actually full of flavor, even though only the very bottom of them is edible when the artichoke is steamed or grilled whole. Plus, I figured after putting in all of the hard work to get to the heart, it’s nice to really be able to enjoy the artichoke to its fullest. 

4 artichokes, cleaned

1/2 cup olive oil plus 1 tablespoon

1 small onion, chopped

7 garlic cloves, 5 chopped and 2 minced, divided

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 quart chicken broth

4 dried guajillo chiles

1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns

8 ounces dry angel hair pasta, broken into 2-inch pieces

1 shallot, minced

1 pound ground lamb

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

4 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

1. Slice the artichokes 1/4 inch thick on a mandoline, and set them aside, submerged in lemon water to prevent browning. Reserve the leaves. 

2. Heat a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the 1/2 cup olive oil, then the onion and chopped garlic. Sweat them by cooking until the onion is translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer to reduce by half. Add the broth, artichoke leaves, chiles, and peppercorns and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes to combine the flavors. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids.

3. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the pieces of angel hair evenly onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 6 minutes.

4. Preheat the broiler. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the shallot and minced garlic and sweat by cooking until the shallot is translucent, about 3 minutes. 

5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the lamb, Worcestershire, mustard, red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Season with pepper. Increase the heat on the Dutch oven to medium-high and add the lamb mixture to brown, breaking up with a wooden spoon while cooking. Remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain.

6. Strain the sliced artichokes from their water and dab them dry on paper towels. Heat the Dutch oven back over medium-high heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the artichokes and lightly brown them for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the strained artichoke stock and the pasta. As you stir the pasta, it will begin to cook, and will submerge into the liquid. Continue to stir until the liquid is absorbed and both the pasta and the artichokes are tender. Return the lamb to the pot along with the lemon juice, parsley, and dill, stirring to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large oven-to-table baking dish.  Place the mozzarella on the fideos, pressing it down into the pasta a bit while leaving some of the pasta exposed. 

7. Broil until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly and some of the pasta is crisped, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Drink Tip

We’re working with difficult artichokes here, and we also have creaminess from the mozzarella and brightness from the dill. When you’re dealing with tricky flavors, a good rule of thumb is to let the wine bow out of the flavor contest gracefully. A light and easy Pinot Grigio will do this well.

Even though today was gloomy and rainy in Chicago- I had a great time w/friends at The Vintage Bazaar at the Congress Theater. Saw some wonderful pieces and purchased the clutch ($12) and turquoise brooch ($20) above. 

Last night I found myself in a hole in the wall late night Mexican place in Wicker Park at 2 AM.  I’m with a group of guys including two lovely Shovelhead men…George (who btw punched me in the nose Friday) and Sean. While everyone is ordering they are standing outside taking turns holding each other on their backs, giggling, and basically just putting on a show for passers by…typical.

This hispanic man comes waltzing up to the restaurant and looks at them, mumbles something, and then comes into the food establishment. By the looks of this guy, lets just say I don’t feel the safest. He starts going off on the gay couple out front of the restaurant. The “gay” couple being George and Sean. Sean and George are straight. I should have just started off by clearing the air that they were straight, but instead I thought who cares if they are straight? This is my chance to stand up for my friends who are gay. Bad idea- but that’s what I did.

Man: Yeah I mean no homo, homo, no homo. It’s like do whatever you want but don’t be all on each other out front of the place I’m trying to eat at. Take the shit somewhere else.

Me: Alright bud.

Man: What? You got a problem with me because I’m mexican? I bleed the same blood you bleed.

Me: I agree, but if you are so concerned about blood etc then why do you care if those guys are gay?

Man: Gurl, I bleed the same blood you bleed.

Me: We’ve covered this. You just need to chill out.

Man: No those guys need to stop giving each other piggy back rides. I just got out of prison. I’ve been in for 7 years and I just got out.

Me: (Oh God Oh God OH God awkwardness setting in) I mean…that’s exciting.

Man: I mean look at you and your boyfriend.

He points to another friend of mine who is not my boyfriend.

Man: You’re a pretty gurl and dis is your guy. I have no problems here. That’s fine. Those guys out there though they need to take that shit back to Belmont this is Wicker Park. Ok this is my home and I don’t need to see that.

At this point I just nodded my head, went outside, and tried to get out of there before ese finished ordering his food. Thank you George and Sean.

Pictures I Take of People on the L:

This is my favorite person that I have seen on the L in awhile. I had to take a picture. So I think this man…let’s call him Cesar is the inspiration for a new series Pictures I Take of People on the L. If you see someone like Cesar… or someone better…I encourage you to email that to me: PicturesITakeofPeopleontheL@gmail.com and I will post that on this blog and credit you of course. If you don’t live in Chicago please take pictures on the Subway or I guess of the carpool lane if you live in LA. Ok? Cool.

Anyway so yeah …that’s Cesar up above. Look at his incredible ensemble! His hair is graceful yet masculine…his mustache is oddly very black for the color of his hair…so I’m guessing Just for Men is involved here. The coat is something else…navy wool…brass buttons dotting the front…a (wishful) military man. Maybe Cesar couldn’t serve in the army because he has flatfeet…which is why he wears those orthopedic shoes. Then again, the orthopedic shoes may just be cheerleading shoes and the turtleneck peeking out of the top of Cesar’s jacket might just be his male cheerleading uniform covered up. I mean now that I look at Cesar’s posture and pose it kind of makes sense. He has incredible turnout and is practically standing in 4th position without even trying…just listening to some Jock Jams Remix that he choreographed his routine to…getting psyched for the big show.

I’m also glad that red head over Cesar’s left shoulder caught me taking this…whoops. I would be a terrible spy.

Go see 30 % Chance of Hailey at iO on Tuesdays @ 8PM

www.ioimprov.com

So…my mom wanted me to go to mass for Good Friday. “Caitlin, you should be going to mass between 12-3 when Jesus was on the cross.” Unfortunately I didn’t make it back in time because I found myself at the Edvard Munch show at the Art Institute.  However, while I was walking through the exhibit, I walked into a room that was full of crucifixion paintings and when I looked down at my cellphone…it was 3 o’clock.  I think this is some sort of sign or as one woman yelled over her audio tour to her husband “HOW APPROPRIATE IT’S 3 o’clock GENE!”