Artichoke bounty from Gateway Garlic Farms in
In an impressive feat of agricultural adaptation, Gateway Garlic Farms, a local farm that specializes in growing heirloom vegetables, has produced a successful crop of artichokes that recently made their debut on the menu at Boundary at The Cheshire.
For those unfamiliar with the thistle, nearly 100 percent are grown in California, specifically Castroville, the self-proclaimed “Artichoke Capital of the World.” A viable artichoke grown outside of that region is largely unheard of, which accounts for Boundary Executive Chef Rex Hale’s surprise upon hearing about this local agricultural breakthrough.
“To say that you can get artichokes in St. Louis…to be honest with you, that’s mind numbing to me,” Hale (right) says.
The idea to grow a local artichoke stemmed from a conversation four years ago between Mark Brown of Gateway Garlic Farms and a Washington University professor.
“The professor was talking about about how much money we waste shipping produce around the world,” Brown says. “We grow it here to ship it somewhere else and they grow it there to ship it here. To me that makes no sense and she looked at me like I was from another planet. She said, 'Well, Mark, artichokes don’t grow in Missouri,' which kind of shut down the conversation. And I thought, ‘Why don’t they grow here?’”
This caused Brown to search for a hybrid that would grow sustainably and consistently in Missouri. After years of trial and error, Brown settled on a hybrid of a standard globe artichoke and an heirloom artichoke from Tuscany, which Brown acquired from international seed swapping groups on Facebook. The two 'parent' artichokes had desirable traits such as cold and drought tolerance, which, when combined with advanced farming techniques, allow Gateway Garlic Farms to grow them in Missouri’s climate. In the field, the farmers use a greenhouse fabric to make row-long "hoop house" that create a mini-greenhouse environment for the plants, with the heat coming from horse manure that decomposes throughout the cold months. Once it becomes warm enough, farmers remove the hoop houses and the artichokes grow like any other crop.
“If not for the greenhouse fabric and some of our ecologically smart farming techniques, we would never be able to pull this off,” Brown says. “It’s a breathable mesh that has more insulating qualities than plastic."
Because they have been staggering the planting of the artichokes, Gateway Garlic Farms hopes to harvest artichokes 8 to 10 months a year, Brown says.
Hale, who has been using this first batch of artichokes in weekly specials at Boundary, appreciates the distinction of freshly picked produce.
“When I had my restaurant in Los Osos, California, there was a little Japanese lady with a garden in her backyard who would clip asparagus for me whenever I came by. Since I’ve been alive I’ve never tasted better asparagus. It's the same thing with this, the difference between getting the artichokes from Gateway Garlic and getting the artichokes shipped in from California.”
The special at Boundary this week is a roasted Alaskan halibut (above) with braised artichokes, asparagus, wild purslane, fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and a little butter and green garlic. Everything except for the butter and the fish comes from Gateway Garlic Farms.
Boundary
7036 Clayton
314-932-7818
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