Artichoke Cream

Artichoke cream with white pepper from the Languedoc

Creamy, lemony, delicately peppered: Rue Traversette's artichoke cream packs a good two-thirds artichoke hearts into a small jar, refined with olive oil, lemon, and white Sarawak pepper. A vegetarian spread for those who love the nutty, tart heart of the artichoke.

Artichoke cream from Rue Traversette is a fine vegetable spread made from 67 percent artichoke hearts, olive oil, and lemon juice, which Stéphane seasons with salt and white Sarawak pepper. The artichoke provides the nutty, tart tone, the lemon keeps everything fresh, and the pepper from Borneo adds a warm, subtle heat at the end. Its original name is Artichaut au poivre blanc. If you like artichokes, you'll find their heart here in creamy form, with that fine bitterness that only the artichoke can provide.

Creamy, lemony, delicately peppered

On the spoon, the artichoke cream is light and creamy; it smells of artichoke, good olive oil, and a splash of lemon. The color is a pale greenish-yellow, the texture fine, with a few noticeable pieces of heart that show that there is real vegetable inside the jar.

First, you taste the nutty, tart heart of the artichoke, then the lemon joins in with its freshness before the white Sarawak pepper layers a warm, subtle heat over it. Fresh, savory, light, without ever being heavy. This is a far cry from a bland, ready-made dip from the refrigerated section, in which there is often little left of the actual artichoke.

With fish, asparagus, and on appetizer bread

As a vegetarian spread, the artichoke cream joins our vegetable spreads and creams and makes for a great starter on toasted bread, crackers, or breadsticks during an aperitif. In the south of France, such a tartinade is naturally on the table as soon as someone calls for an apéro.

With its delicate bitterness, it pairs well with fried fish, seafood, and grilled green asparagus, which it particularly likes. A spoonful stirred into pasta turns a few simple ingredients into a quick dinner, and a dollop in a vinaigrette adds depth to the dish. On the appetizer platter, it likes to sit next to the tomato cream—light next to deep red.

When you have guests, spread it thinly on warm baguette, place a strip of smoked salmon on top, and in two minutes you have an appetizer bite that looks like it came from a bistro kitchen.

From Stéphane's kettles in the south of France

The artichoke cream is cooked in the small cannery of Rue Traversette in Saint-André-de-Sangonis, where Stéphane Strobl has been putting vegetables into jars since 2005.

The white pepper comes from Sarawak in Borneo; it is milder and more aromatic than black pepper and is a perfect match for the delicate tartness of the artichoke. Such touches are Stéphane's signature: a man who once sold corks to local winemakers and has been taking classics for a good 20 years to give them a small, surprising twist. Since moving to the larger cannery in 2015, he has been assisted by a ten-person team that still cooks in kettles instead of on an assembly line.

Stéphane and we share a long history: his gourmet products have been on our shelves for over 15 years, as one of the first addresses to bring his jars to Germany. This artichoke cream is still one of the finest varieties he makes.

Stirred into cream cheese, it becomes milder

At room temperature, the artichoke cream tastes rounder than straight from the fridge, so take it out of the cold a few minutes before serving. Once opened, store the jar in a cool place and use it within a few days. A spoonful also stirs nicely into cream cheese or yogurt if you are looking for a milder version for raw vegetables and vegetable sticks. If you like, try your way through the other vegetable creams from Rue Traversette, from eggplant to black olive.