Butter-Braised Cardoons With Mushrooms and Bread Crumbs

Cardoons are related to artichokes but look like celery — or celery gone wild, anyway. They take a little time and trouble to find (try a specialty grocery store or an Italian market) and to trim and string, but they are worth the effort.

Ingredients

• Salt, as needed
• 4 slender cardoon stalks, the paler in color the better
• ½ lemon, plus a wedge for squeezing over the finished dish
• ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 4 large shiitake (caps only) or other mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, about 1 1/2 cups
• ½ cup lightly packed fresh coarse bread crumbs
• Pepper, to taste

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

    194 calories; 12 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 3 grams protein; 30 milligrams cholesterol; 358 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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4 servings

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it moderately. Strip the cardoons of leaves and string as you would celery. Cut each stalk lengthwise into 2 or 3 long strips, then crosswise into 2-inch lengths. You’ll have about 3 cups. Squeeze the lemon juice into the water and boil the cardoons until fairly tender, 10 to 12 minutes; drain and rinse.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a skillet wide enough to accommodate the cardoons comfortably. When the foam subsides, add the cardoons, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until they take on a bit of color, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms are mostly tender, 5 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and a pinch of salt and raise the heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread crumbs brown a bit and the cardoons are fully tender and sweet, 5 minutes longer.
3. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the top, taste for salt, add pepper to taste and serve hot or warm.

40 minutes