How To Artichoke

Last year I took you through the roasting process which is really how I love to make them for a crowd and perfect for summer gatherings. Today I am here with my alternative and somewhat more traditional vehicle for consumption, the whole steamed globe. I am also going to slide in with a second video with some serving suggestions and finally a little reminder of how to make mayo in a minute AKA the perfect artichoke dip. 

I’m attaching the whole series of videos here so you can follow along the journey with a simple how-to description for complete steaming, plating and dipping success. One minute mayo is next up and I will link all the other sauces I love below.

How To Artichoke

Servings

3-6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

I like to serve one large artichoke per person as a light main course or halve them for a starter or side of dreams.

Ingredients

• 3 large globe artichokes

• 1-2 lemons

• 1 fresh bay leaf

• good pinch of salt

Directions

• firstly you need a saucepan pan with a lid (or some parchment and foil to tightly cover your pan).
• With a cut lemon at the ready, cut the bottom of the artichoke stem off so that it can sit flat in the pan and on your plate. Immediately rub the cut lemon against the cut part of the artichoke stem to stop it turning brown on oxidisation.
• Preferably using a serrated knife, trim the top leaves so the top of the artichoke is flat and again rub with lemon juice. If you are making a large batch of artichokes you might want to drop them into a bowl of very lemony cold water to stop them turning brown while you prep the batch.
• Place the artichokes in a pan, standing upright. You want them to fit quite snugly so they don’t flip over during cooking. Add about 250ml water (or enough to cover about 1/3 of the artichoke) to the pan along with the cut lemons, a fresh bay leaf if you have one to hand and a very generous pinch of salt.
• Cover tightly and simmer gently, for between 45 minutes and an hour depending on the size and freshness of the artichokes. I like to check for doneness from about 40-45 minutes. They are ready when the leaves easily pull away from the heart.

Recipe Video

Notes

• Careful not to overcook so they fall apart and make sure you do not let the water boil out completely – top up as necessary.  I have made this mistake more times than I care to admit……..
  

I like to dip the leaves either in some warm browned butter, a vinaigrette of choice (I personally love tarragon) or aioli.  Or is there a dip you prefer?  Please let me know in the comments.  

And for a few serving suggestions…………

Here’s where the fun really begins. Once you have steamed your globes (head to the previous reel to find out how-to), there are some choices in how to plate/serve and devour.

Firstly, steamed artichokes are just as delicious at room temperature as they are warm fresh from the pot.  This makes them as easy to make ahead for a crowd as for an intimate low key dinner.  

When I’m in a sharing situation I generally like to remove the choke (hairy inedible centre). You can do this either by slicing the artichokes in half down the centre, scraping the choke out with a spoon and laying them out on a serving plate ready to dip. 

Alternatively, you can keep the artichokes whole and gently open up the outer leaves like a flower, exposing the choke in the middle where you can pull/spoon it out.  The added beauty of this method means the exposed heart (the piece de resistance of the whole exercise) then becomes the receptacle for the sauce of choice – vinaigrette, aioli, brown butter or any other desired dip. 

Or simply eat them bistro style – whole, delicately removing each leaf, starting from the outside as you dip and scrape and build a discard tower in the middle of the table until you reach the heart – the reward of all your hard labour.  

Happy artichoking people……..

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