Boiling Artichokes & Making Garlic Oil Sauce

Boiling Artichokes & Making Garlic Oil Sauce

Ingredients

For the swordfish and eggplant bundles:
1 medium sized Farmers Market eggplant, sliced lengthwise into paper thin slices
2 tablespoons H.T. Traders extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves Farmers Market garlic, minced
1 cup chopped boxed tomatoes (Pomi brand)
1 cup strained boxed tomatoes (Pomi brand)
2 tablespoons Farmers Market chopped basil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon freshly crushed pepper
Dash of crushed dried red chili flakes
2 (3/4 pound) boneless Fishermans Market swordfish fillets

For the artichokes:
8 Farmers Market baby artichokes, peeled and trimmed* or 2 cans reduced sodium artichokes, drained
Juice of 1 Farmers Market lemon (only if using fresh artichokes)
3 tablespoons H.T. Traders extra virgin olive oil
4 Farmers Market garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Farmers Market mint, finely chopped
Pinch of crushed red chili flakes

Instructions

1. Preheat broiler and place eggplant slices on a baking sheet. Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil and bake for a few minutes until tender and cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until it releases its aroma- do not let garlic turn brown. Stir in chopped and strained tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, chili and chili flakes, stir, and cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. In the meantime, place a large piece of wax paper on a work surface. Place fish fillets on wax paper, and cover with another piece. Use a flat edged meat hammer to pound fish into a very thin, even (1/4-inch) thickness. Check under the wax paper from time to time to make sure that fish is not tearing. Cut each piece in half to make 4 pieces. Top each piece with thin layers of the eggplant slices. (If you have extra eggplant slices, reserve them as a garnish). Starting at the wide end, roll up fish, completely encasing eggplant. Use toothpicks or skewers to secure the rolls. Slowly remove lid from tomato sauce and add rolls into simmering sauce. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning once, or until fish is cooked through. Transfer fish to a serving platter, remove skewers, and top with remaining sauce. Serve remaining eggplant slices along the sides of the dish.

3. To make the artichokes: Soak the artichokes in water to clean, drain and repeat until water is clear. Peel away the outside leaves of the bottom half of the artichokes.

4. Cut off the top quarter of the artichoke (at this point the artichoke should look like a flower and the tough, dark leaves should all be removed leaving only lighter colored more tender leaves). If tough, dark green leaves remain, peel those as well.

5. Add juice of 1 lemon to a bowl full of cold water and place lemons inside to avoid discoloration. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add cleaned artichokes.

6. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain artichokes and set aside.  In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. When oil coats the bottom of the pan and begins to release its aroma, add garlic. Reduce heat to low and cook garlic just until it begins to release its aroma before it turns color. Add artichokes, salt, and pepper, and fry for a minute on each side until golden. Serve with Swordfish and Eggplant Bundles.