Artichokes

This is the way I grew up eating artichokes, scraping the leaves against my bottom teeth after dipping them into melted butter. How can you resist that? Although Springtime and late fall are the growing seasons for artichokes, we ate them at every holiday. They are a little time consuming to prepare, but the cooking is simple and the effort is well worth it. I prefer a simple braised artichoke, but I’ll post the stuffed version soon too.

Tips:

• Artichokes should be heavy for their size and the leaves should be closed, like a globe.

• The artichoke should be bright green, with some purple towards the center. Stay away from ones that have browned or the leaves are dried out.

• There are many varieties of artichokes. This recipe works best with the globe variety.

• Artichokes brown quickly, like a white potato, so if you are making a bunch, put them in acidulated water (water with lemon juice in it).

Artichokes

Makes 4

PREP 20 minutes

COOK 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 globe artichokes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons anchovy paste

3 teaspoons garlic powder

4 cloves garlic, peeled

Kosher salt

Olive oil

4 tablespoons melted butter, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water and half of a lemon.

2. Using a serrated knife cut off the top 3/4” of the artichoke. Cut off the stem, making the artichoke flat on the bottom and able to sit up. Use scissors to cut off the thorns on any of the leaves that are left. Trim the bottom 1-2 rows of leaves, cutting off the base of those leaves.

3. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the outer layer of the stem, cutting off the very bottom which is dried out. Toss this in the acidulated water.

4. Rinse the artichoke in water, gently opening up the leaves. Place the artichoke in the bowl of water and continue cutting the rest of the artichokes and stems.

5. Place the artichokes in a large stock pot so that they are touching. Add the stems too. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the artichokes halfway. Add the tomato paste and anchovy paste to the water. Drizzle olive oil on top of each artichoke and in the water too. Place a clove of garlic in the center of each artichoke. Season the artichokes and the water with salt and garlic powder. It is important to flavor the water, as well as the artichoke, so that the whole thing is flavorful.

6. Bring the artichokes to a boil, then lower the heat and cover, simmering the artichokes until tender, about 40 minutes. You will know the artichokes are done when you can easily pull off a leaf and when you taste it, it’s tender.

7. Serve the artichokes family style or place each one in a small bowl. You can drizzle the melted butter on each artichoke before serving for added flavor. Adjust seasoning with salt.