Do you know what this is?

@Fleura (31894)
United Kingdom
May 4, 2021 5:27am CST
One of my friends subscribes to a regular veg box scheme, which means she gets a box of seasonal vegetables delivered to her home every week. Of course she just gets whatever is available, and sometimes doesn’t fancy it or gets too much of the same thing, so she passes any extras to us - we are willing to try anything, and we can usually reciprocate with something from the garden, or a few eggs in exchange. This week she handed over a bundle containing these. Do you know what they are? (I’m not really expecting readers outside Europe and maybe north America to recognise them). Have you ever eaten them and if so do you have a favourite recipe? All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2021.
16 people like this
15 responses
Anna
@LadyDuck (477832)
• Italy
4 May 21
Oh yes, I know that this is a cardoon ( Cynara cardunculus), it is of the family of artichokes, I know that my mother in law cooked them, but I never tried
6 people like this
Anna
@LadyDuck (477832)
• Italy
4 May 21
@Fleura I made Indian pakora yesterday evening with onions, some vegetables and chickpea flour. I will pick up one during one of my morning walk and try it.
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
You are spot on! Well done, give yourself some extra points!
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
We already ate some - I read that they could be made into fritters using chickpea (gram) flour, so instead I mixed the cooked cardoon with onion and made bhajis. This time I thought I would try this recipe with honey and pine nuts
Cardoon Recipes - Cooking Cardoons in New Ways
honest-food.net
Looking for cardoon recipes that are new and unusual -- and I come up with a particularly good one with honey, pine nuts and thyme.
1 person likes this
Fiacre Banks
@xFiacre (13852)
• Ireland
4 May 21
@fluera I would have guessed celery but I suspect that you would not have asked if that had been the answer so I'll go with @ladyduck 's confident assertion that it is cardoon.
3 people like this
Anna
@LadyDuck (477832)
• Italy
4 May 21
I am sure it is a cardoon.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
You are quite right to trust @LadyDuck's judgement : )
2 people like this
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43902)
• Cambridge, England
4 May 21
From your photo, it looks like some kind of mad cross between celery and sprouting broccoli. Is it Swiss Chard? Whatever it is, I'd be tempted to braise it, like celery, with a little oil, chicken stock and maybe some parmesan.
2 people like this
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43902)
• Cambridge, England
4 May 21
@DaddyEvil Chard isn't always red. There are white and yellow varieties, too. However, this is green, which makes me lean towards celery - though there's something very odd about the colour!
4 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (152277)
• United States
4 May 21
@owlwings I've never seen chard any color but red. I had no idea it came in other colors. I agree, I'm wondering if the stalks are a variation of celery I've not seen before. I thought the color was... different but thought maybe it's been too long since we bought any to be sure.
2 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (152277)
• United States
4 May 21
If the stems were red, I would have guessed Swiss Chard or possibly rhubarb...
3 people like this
simplyme
@m_audrey6788 (58470)
• Germany
4 May 21
I think it is celery. I love Chicken Celery soup. So delicious
3 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (152277)
• United States
4 May 21
It looks like stalks of celery with the leaves cut off. What did you trade for it? (I can eat celery in soups and stews, but am not fond of it. *shrug*)
2 people like this
simplyme
@m_audrey6788 (58470)
• Germany
4 May 21
That`s what I`m also thinking
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
@m_audrey6788 @DaddyEvil Sorry, @LadyDuck is correct, it's a cardoon (stems of a plant related to a thistle).
3 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (152277)
• United States
4 May 21
@Fleura I've never heard of "cardoon" before. I've glad someone figured it out. So now you know...
1 person likes this
Simone
@Janet357 (75646)
•
4 May 21
broccoli
3 people like this
Marie
@Tampa_girl7 (52794)
• United States
4 May 21
It looks like celery.
1 person likes this
Anna
@LadyDuck (477832)
• Italy
5 May 21
@Fleura You are right it is more silvery grey, I think it's good for the liver, same as the artichokes.
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
5 May 21
Yes it does look closest to celery, but the colour is more of a silvery grey. It's a cardoon - a type of cultivated thistle - @LadyDuck is the only person who knew it!
1 person likes this
DianneN
@DianneN (247166)
• United States
5 May 21
Of course it doesn’t quite look like celery, so I give up. I cheated and read the answers. Not something we make use of here, but that was nice of your friend to share it with you.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
5 May 21
Yes it does look closest to celery, but the colour is more of a silvery grey. It's not something I've ever seen in shops here, but people do grow it at home. Only ever tried it once before.
1 person likes this
DianneN
@DianneN (247166)
• United States
5 May 21
@Fleura I hope you enjoy it. It sounds interesting.
Rashna Gandhi
@Rashnag (30589)
• Surat, India
4 May 21
It's drumsticks I guess. It's very nutritious for health. Have a good day. Take care
2 people like this
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203410)
• Nashville, Tennessee
4 May 21
Looks like Anna knew the answer. Enjoy!
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
I tried a recipe where the cooked cardoon is chopped and mixed with sauteed onion and toasted pine nuts with a glaze of sherry and honey - it was really good!
1 person likes this
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203410)
• Nashville, Tennessee
4 May 21
@Fleura Never had this but sounds good.
1 person likes this
Wilma Henry
@HomewardBound (552)
•
4 May 21
I would have thought it was celery but I have learned a new vegetable.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
They are not something you often see in the shops - at least not here.
Silvia
@Shxrubia (2751)
• Indonesia
4 May 21
I have no idea what kind of vegetables is that
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
It's a cardoon, a type of thistle!
Robin huut
@Robinhuut (457)
• Bogor, Indonesia
5 May 21
In our place called lemongrass leaf is a plant that is often used as a flavoring or fragrance
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
5 May 21
There are certainly a lot of different plants eaten around the world!
Prabhat Singh
@Prabhatsingh (3537)
• India
5 May 21
No idea. Never seen this thing before. What is it called?
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
5 May 21
It's a cardoon - a type of cultivated thistle. You eat the leaf stalks.
1 person likes this
Prabhat Singh
@Prabhatsingh (3537)
• India
5 May 21
@Fleura Produced out of Europe? bt any chance?
changjiangzhibin89
@changjiangzhibin89 (16981)
• China
4 May 21
I can't identify the plant, except knowing that they are leafstalks.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (31894)
• United Kingdom
4 May 21
Yes, they are the stalks of a plant called a cardoon, like a huge silvery thistle!
1 person likes this