CookEat Recipe
Cardoons with Cream and White Sauce
Tender cardoons cooked in butter and cream, lightly bound with white sauce and finished with Parmesan off the heat.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 500 g trimmed cardoon ribs, tough outer ribs and strings removed; 40 g butter: 30 g for the cardoons and 10 g for the white sauce; 150 ml cream; 100 ml milk for the white sauce; 2 g plain flour, weighed; 15 g finely grated Parmesan; Salt; Water for boiling.
Step 2
Boil the cleaned cardoon ribs in salted water for about 20–30 minutes, until partly tender. Drain and cut into pieces about three fingers long, roughly 5–6 cm.
Step 3
Melt 30 g butter in a pan, add the cardoons and season with salt. Turn gently over low heat until they have taken up the butter, about 5 minutes. Add the cream and simmer gently for about 20–30 minutes, until the cardoons are fully tender. Add a small splash of water if needed to keep the cream from reducing too quickly.
Step 4
Meanwhile, melt the remaining 10 g butter with the flour in a small saucepan. Stir until the flour just begins to take a pale hazelnut colour, then gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Cook gently until smooth and lightly creamy.
Step 5
Stir this small batch of white sauce into the tender cardoons and heat through. Add the Parmesan, stir once and remove immediately from the heat without boiling again. Serve hot. For a lighter version, replace the 150 ml cream with the same amount of milk; the separate 100 ml milk for the white sauce is still needed.
Step 6
Turnips can replace the cardoons: use 500 g peeled turnips cut into large cubes, boil for about 5–8 minutes until partly tender, drain and continue with the butter, cream, white sauce and Parmesan as above. Simmer in the cream for about 15–20 minutes until tender; allow about 50 minutes total.
Step 7
For potatoes, use 500 g peeled potatoes cut into wedges, partly boil for about 5–8 minutes, drain carefully and cook gently in the butter and cream for about 15–20 minutes before adding the white sauce and Parmesan. Allow about 50 minutes total. For courgettes, use 500 g cut into wedges and do not boil them first: put the raw wedges directly into the butter, add the cream and simmer for about 10–15 minutes until tender, then add the white sauce and Parmesan. Allow about 35 minutes total. All these vegetable variations use the same sauce quantities.
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