Greek Artichoke & Potato Stew

Rereading an old travel diary, I came across an entry from Gythio in southern Greece and was reminded of the absolutely wonderful artichoke and potato stew I had there. I felt inspired to try to make it again. Alas, the diary was quite old, and the notes less than exhaustive, but here is an attempt cobbled together from various corners of the internet, and I was very pleased with the results. It feels light and refreshing and makes a good vegetable side, but is hearty enough to have as a main dish. Be sure to serve with bread to mop up the last of the lemony broth.

You can use artichoke hearts for this, but I like the texture of artichoke bottoms, which I find less fibrous.

The Greek name for this dish is αγκινάρεσ αλά πολιτα (Agkinares a la polita), or, roughly, "City-Style Artichokes".

Greek Artichoke & Potato Stew

Serves 4

Adapted from: Akis Petrezikis

45 mL (3 tablespoons) olive oil
120 grams (1 medium) yellow onion
2 thick or 4 thin spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
400 grams (3-4 medium) waxy potatoes
3 small-to-medium carrots
1 400 gram tin (14 oz/398 ml) artichoke bottoms
1 tablespoon vegetable stock concentrate
600 mL water, boiled and still hot
150 mL water, room temperature
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 large, juicy lemon, zest and juice (use juice of 2 lemons if yours isn't very juicy)
1/2 bunch fresh dill
salt to taste
white pepper to taste

Extra olive oil and fresh dill to garnish

You can use a deep skillet or soup pot to make this, but I used my 30cm braising pan.

Heat the olive oil gently in the pan, over low heat, while you prepare your vegetables: Peel the yellow onion and slice (pole-to-pole) into 1 cm wide strips. Slice the spring onions into 1 cm rounds, separating the darker green parts from the lighter green and white parts. Peel and slice the garlic, fairly thinly. Peel or scrub the carrots, and cut in half lengthwise. Slice the halved carrots on the diagonal into .5 cm slices. Peel the potatoes and dice into large (but still spoonable) chunks, about 1.5 cm in size. Drain the artichoke bottoms, trim off any hard or woody looking bits (if any), and cut each one into quarters.

Turn up the heat under the pan to medium-high, and while it is getting hot, heat the 600 ml water separately so it is at the ready.

When the pan is hot, add the yellow onion and the white/light parts of the spring onion slices. Give them a stir and sauté until they just start to turn translucent. A bit of colour is no big deal, but you don't want to brown them, really. Add the carrots and garlic to the pan, and stir through. Add the potato cubes, and stir through. Add a good pinch of coarse or kosher salt, and stir that through, too. I also added a good pinch of white pepper at this stage (optional).

Stir and sauté until the vegetables pick up a hint of golden colour, and then add the artichokes. Continue to cook for 2 minutes, and then add the vegetable stock concentrate, the boiled water, and the lemon zest and juice. While this mixture returns to a simmer, combine the 1 tablespoon of plain flour with the 150 mL room temperature water and shake or whisk together until smooth. Add to the pan, and stir constantly (but gently) until the liquid comes back up to a bubble.

Turn down the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid (or tinfoil/parchment cover if needed), and let simmer for 45 minutes. Check whether the larger pieces of carrot and potato are tender, and if not, cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. If they are tender, remove the lid, and use a clean spoon to taste the broth (being careful, of course, because it's very hot). If it needs more salt, add it now and stir through, giving it a few minutes to integrate into the dish.

When the stew is ready, remove (and discard) the stems from the dill and chop the fronds coarsely. Add half the chopped fronds and the remaining green onion slices to the pot and stir through, and reserve the other half to garnish individual bowls.

Ladle into bowls and serve with bread for mopping up the sauce, and an extra wedge of lemon (if you like).

This recipe can be made ahead and refrigerated for several days, in which case hold off on adding any of the dill until just before serving. Leftovers, with the dill already added, will benefit from an extra bit of fresh dill stirred through.