One of the most fascinating things about poking around people's pantries (oh, like you don't do that...) is finding those go-to ingredients they always have around, the ones you would never think to keep on hand but are as essential to them as olive oil. For restaurant and drinks editor Andrew Knowlton, it's brown cheese (his wife is Norwegian, okay?); for Tertulia chef Seamus Mullen, it's sherry vinegar; for bonappetit.com editor Matt Gross, it's dried chiles of all kinds.
Enter our collectively felt gem of a pantry good: marinated artichokes. We're talking about either jarred artichokes or the ones you find at your supermarket's salad bar, not canned ones. The jarred stuff is almost always marinated and, thus, flavorful; canned artichokes are flavorless and soggy. So go for glass. And then do this with them:
- Use them as a pizza topping. Pat the artichokes dry and sprinkle them onto the pizza after the cheese, then bake the pie as you normally would. The artichoke's flavor plays well with mozzarella, thinly sliced red onion, and fresh rosemary.
- Make a creamy spinach-artichoke dip. Defrost frozen spinach and wring it out to remove excess moisture. Combine spinach with artichokes, enough mayonnaise to moisten generously, grated Parmesan cheese, and lots of black pepper. Put the mixture into a ramekin, top with more grated Parmesan, and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, about 15–20 minutes. Serve with pita chips, crusty bread, or the chip of your choice.
- Make crostini: Toast bread, spread ricotta, top with artichokes, season with lemon zest and flaky salt.
- Sauté in brown butter with capers and pour the mixture over pan-seared or baked fish. Since the sauce's flavors are pretty strong, go with a mild, flaky white fish.
- Roast alongside large-diced potatoes. Basically, just toss them both with olive oil and roast for 30–35 minutes at 425 degrees.
- Toss into risotto. When the rice is done cooking, stir them in thoroughly, let warm, and eat.
- Make a warm vinaigrette: Sauté chopped artichokes and shallots in olive oil, finish with lemon juice. Toss, still warm, with a sturdy green like kale or mustard greens, and serve immediately.
- Fold into an omelet. And toss in some feta cheese.
- Make a quick gratin. Put them into a baking dish, sprinkle with Gruyère and breadcrumbs, and bake at 400° until the cheese is melted and the artichokes are warmed through.
- Make an antipasto platter: Artichokes, salumi, cheese, olives. In other words, take the artichokes out of the jar and put them on a plate with all of that other stuff.
- Scratch that: Just eat them straight out of the jar.