Put foot down on Pomace

Andre Burgener has been immersed in all things food since she took over the making of the family's lunch box sandwiches aged eight (her mom could make a mean creme brulee and a staggering souffle, but could never butter the bread all the way to the edges.

IN SEASON

ARTICHOKES, bless their sumptuous hearts, are some of the only vegetables that have remained obstinately seasonal. And the season is short, very short, so it's a "make hay" sort of thing.

If you're eating out, the most stupendous treatment of an artichoke can be found at Tortellino d'Oro in Oaklands, Johannesburg. The stuffed baked artichoke emanating from this fine upstanding Italian kitchen is a blissful thing indeed. You have about two or three weeks left to partake. Tortellino d'Oro: 011-483-1249.

A recipe that comes pretty close to the Tortellino nirvana is one from Gabrielle Hamilton, genius author of Blood, Bones and Butter, inspired by her Italian mother-in-law's method:

WHAT: Two large globe artichokes, 1/2 cup home made coarse breadcrumbs, 1 tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 10 fresh oregano leaves (optional), 3 garlic cloves, minced, 1 tsp sea salt, ¼ to 1/3 cup olive oil.

HOW: Preheat oven to 180C. Cut stems off the artichokes. Lay them on their sides and cut one inch from the tops. Using your fingers, pry open the leaves to expose the choke. Using a spoon, scrape choke from each artichoke and discard.

Mix breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic and salt together. Stuff breadcrumb mixture deeply between leaves, spreading them open if necessary. Place into 20cm oven dish with one cup water poured in, and pour olive oil evenly over and into artichokes. Roast artichokes, uncovered, until tender (50 minutes to an hour).

POMACE UNWRAPPED

Pomace is that fugitive olive oil lurking next to the Extra Virgins on the shelf. Don't even think about putting the stuff into your trolley, much less into your mouth. Pomace is made from the small percentage of oil left in olives after mechanical extraction.

To release these minuscule amounts, extraction must happen through high heat and chemicals. This oil is no friend to your body. A petroleum-based chemical, hexane, plus the ultra-high heats used, are both pretty toxic. Really, the only difference between pomace and the other low-down vegetable oils on the shelves is the price.

APOLOGIES

To any hapless reader who spent good money on ingredients and ended up with a dodgy morass after following my Beer Cake recipe, I apologise. The butter should have been divided thusly: half a cup in the topping, the remainder in the base.

My brain was in the deepest shade two week ago. For the corrected full recipe go to www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/ columnists/2011/10/12/raise-moods-with- beer-cake