3 reasons why you should love the St. Erasmus Violet Artichoke

Personally, I love artichokes, all kind of them, but being Venetian, I particularly love the Sant'Erasmo Violet Artichoke. St. Erasmus is the biggest island in the Venetian Lagoon, it is also called the vegetable garden of Venice, for being the garden of Venice, in fact, the population density here is extremely low, because of the great presence of fields, including the ones dedicated to the Violet Artichoke. If you have the chance to talk to a local, he will probably list a thousands of reasons why you should love the St. Erasmus Violet Artichoke, but I will tell you the 3 reasons why I love it and I have developed a kind of addiction for "castraura" .

1. YOU CAN EAT IT RAW

The "castraura", is the first bud of the artichoke. It is so good and tender that you can eat it raw. If you are visiting St. Erasmus Island in May, you can experience the thrill of tasting the artichoke right after its harvest. Eating the Violet Artichoke raw is a particular gastronomic experience you cannot miss, expecially if you cut it in stripes and add a little olive oil and a lemon juice on top.

2. HOWEVER YOU PREPARE IT, IT'S YUMMY

The second reason why I love the Sant'Erasmo Violet Artichoke is that no matter how you prepare it, it's always fantastic. You can fry it, eat it with rice, sautéed or make an artichoke lasagna and in many other ways, but if you have the chance to go to the Violet Artichoke Festival you can taste it the way locals cook it. Locals know all the secrets of its cuisine, for sure. The artichoke beer was the great news of the year.

3. IT IS A SLOWFOOD PRESIDIA PRODUCT

Being a local and traditional culture, exclusively coltivated at St. Erasmus and on a few other areas of the Venice lagoon, the Violet Artichoke has become a Slow Food Presidium, which means that it is safeguarded product and it is defended from the environmental degradation and the threat of the agricultural industry. The Artichoke Violet is unique and you will love it. Trust me!