Burnt Toast Artichoke

When a friend of mine first told me about the burt toast artichoke, I was skeptical.  He assured me this was a delicious, and even common prep of this thistle (it really is a thistle, who knew?).  The recipe is exactly how it sounds:  You put a piece of toast in the toaster and burn it, then scrape off the burned bits - this is something I'm sure we all can relate to - but instead of tossing them, you put them in a little bowl.  You put the piece of toast back in the toaster, burn it scrape it.  Rinse and repeat until the piece of toast is practically gone and you have a bowl of burnt toast scrapings.  The you brown some butter, add the bits to the pan and pour them over the top of a steamed artichoke. Genius.

Here's the paleo/gluten free adaptation of the burnt toast artichoke.  I have no idea who to give due credit for coming up with such a simple, yet adventurous recipe, so shout out if you know where it comes from.

Clip the thorny ends off each leave of the artichoke and put about 1 cup of water, a big dash of coarse sea salt and a splash of red wine and steam artichoke for about 45+ mins (mine was a big guy). 

Pulse peans, walnuts, and almonds in a food processor until they're about the consistency of fine bread crumbs - place on a baking sheet and roast at 400 until they are just about to burn.  

Brown some butter* in a saucepan and add the toasted nuts.  Pour over your artichoke, making sure to get some in every little nook.

*put some unsalted butter in a pan on low heat, and the butterfat and milk solids will separate.  The butter goes from foamy and starts to darken and gives it a really rich, nutty flavor