Carciofi al Forno (Baked Baby Artichokes), Mojo Criollo Jerk Seitan

Recently, baby artichokes, sold as a pack of I think 8, have been available at Weaver Street Market for a reasonable price. I have never baked artichokes, and found a nice Italian recipe for
Carciofi al Forno, or baked artichokes. We had a friend over for dinner, and I decided to try this dish, along with what is becoming a frequent side dish for us, limed jerk seitan (I used Key West Mojo Criollo as the lime marinade).

I followed the artichoke recipe with two packs of artichokes, removing the top layer of leaves of each artichoke and the top 1/3 of the choke, and baking at 375°F with chunks of three cloves of garlic, a few tablespoonfuls of olive oil, and a few more tablespoons of red merlot wine, plus enough water to mainly cover the artichokes. After about 20-30 minutes (I baked uncovered, thinking that there was a lot of liquid, but probably should have followed the instructions to get softer artichokes), I removed the artichokes and let the oven heat up to 400°F.

While it was heating, I drained and saved the liquid from the casserole dish to use for a future meal, and added the topping, which was a cup of bread crumbs, a touch of salt and pepper, a tablespoon of lemon zest, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. The recipe also called for 3 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley but, not having parsley, I used a bit of rosemary. In hindsight, there was much too much bread crumbs, and I'd like to try something like this again but with 1/4 cup bread crumbs. I let the artichokes bake till the topping started to brown, about 5-7 minutes, then I served.

For the seitan, I hand tore a package or so into bite-sized chunks and let them marinate for a half hour or so in the lime marinade. When the artichokes were almost done, I poured the marinade over the bread crumbs to give the dish an extra "kick", and returned the artichokes to the oven. I sauteed the seitan till the pieces were crispy, then dredged them in Pluto's Caribbean Bliss jerk seasoning, and served.

I rarely drink alcohol, but found a North Carolina hard cider on sale today from a company named Foggy Ridge Cider; I bought their Sweet Stayman cider, and served it with dinner. It was reasonably sweet and good!

I think that dinner turned out well; our friend seemed to enjoy it, and my wife said she loved the artichokes. I'd like to try making something similar, but including other vegetables, like eggplant and potato.