Butter-Braised Cardoons With Mushrooms and Bread Crumbs

• Salt, as needed
• 4 slender cardoon stalks, the paler in color the better
• 1/2 lemon, plus a wedge for squeezing over the finished dish
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 4 large shiitake (caps only) or other mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, about 1 1/2 cups
• 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh coarse bread crumbs
• Pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it moderately.
2. Strip the cardoons of leaves and string as you would celery.
3. Cut each stalk lengthwise into 2 or 3 long strips, then crosswise into 2-inch lengths.
4. Youll have about 3 cups.
5. Squeeze the lemon juice into the water and boil the cardoons until fairly tender, 10 to 12 minutes; drain and rinse.
6. Melt the butter over medium heat in a skillet wide enough to accommodate the cardoons comfortably.
7. When the foam subsides, add the cardoons, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until they take on a bit of color, 10 to 12 minutes.
8. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms are mostly tender, 5 minutes.
9. Add the bread crumbs and a pinch of salt and raise the heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread crumbs brown a bit and the cardoons are fully tender and sweet, 5 minutes longer.
10. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the top, taste for salt, add pepper to taste and serve hot or warm.

salt, stalks, lemon, butter, clove garlic, shiitake, bread crumbs, pepper

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017335 (may not work)