Just bought 4 artichokes, came home and realized I have never cooked them....

K

kathleen

Well-known member
...so what do I do? I remember my mom steaming them and serving them with butter or herbed mayo when I was young. How do I do that? Also, what is a better/more tasty alternative to butter?

Thanks

Kathleen

 
First, trim them: cut the tops so most of the pointy ends of the leaves get trimmed. Cut the stem

flush with the base. Rub the cut areas with a half lemon so they don't darken.

Put them in a steaming basket in a pot with at least an inch of water. Julia Child steams them upside down but I don't think that matters much. Cover and steam for about an hour--make sure that the water doesn't evaporate during cooking.

Ther're done when you can pull out a leaf easily.

There is no tasty alternative to butter. You can mix the butter with lemon juice, though.

Enjoy the leftovers cold with mayonnaise.

 
Now that you mention it, I can't believe I've never eaten them with butter...in

over 40 years of eating artichokes. I usually just add a little fresh lemon juice to mayonnaise with a fork or tiny whisk, to taste (but I make it pretty lemony), and a couple dashes of salt and pepper.

 
I consider myself a pretty good cook but with my last attempt I threw them out...

I just don't know what I'm doing. I think I need a hands on lessen.

Deb

 
I leave about an inch of the stem---it steams up nice and soft, just like the heart.

and a nice viniagrette makes a good dip too.

 
BH&G Cookbook was the only one i had as a young wife over 41 years ago.

It was where I went to figure out how to cook something and still to this day I use many of those. When I cook artichokes I add a drop or two of EVOO, the juice of half a lemon and a large clove of garlic to boiling water before adding in the chokes. Boil gently until a fork inserts into the thickest part at the base of the stem easily. I drain them upside in a stainer.

 
Joe, been thinking about steaming them upside down, remove choke & stuff the center. Thoughts?

It seems like the choke would soften faster, then I could remove it, turn the artichoke upright, stuff it, and finish steaming it until done. I haven't given thought to the stuffing yet, but I was so glad to see your post and know that not only am I not thinking outrageously, but my idol Julia did it!

I'm thinking maybe a nice, quick cook stuffing with shrimp, garlic, breadcrumbs, butter, lemon....

 
Fast, easy and good!!! method for artichokes! (more)

Cut off stem''even with the body of the choke. wash artichoke in running water and drian , leaves down for a while.
Wrap the entire artichoke in tinfoil.
Bake in oven @ 350 degrees until the stem stump feels soft.
Eat hot, warm or cold.....
refrigerate in foil.

This method really steams the artichokes in the residual water from rinsing them,. Make sure the tin foil wraps securley; I fold it up and crimp the top.

Perfect every time and there is not the "watered down" taste I sometimes go when boiling them.

 
i like the idea of steaming. Sometimes they get so watered down after boiling

I add lemon juice to the water and they taste wonderful eaten plain. I am finding that today's chokes take much longer to cook.

 
Sounds good to me. I think I would bake them after stuffing instead of more steaming.

 
Joe-this is what I do and it works out so well

I put an X into the bottom of the artichoke, cut and trim leaves then steam upside down. Then I cool a bit, pull out the centers, scrape out the hairy center then I stuff the artichoke and bake it- not steam- to finish it off. The stuffing does not need much time to bake. I use Italian sausage (browned with the other stuffing ingredients beforehand), black olives, onion, breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, then a healthy dose of Marie's Creamy Garlic Dressing. I mix up and stuff then finish in the oven with a little parmesan cheese. Delicious.

 
Marcella Hazan's recipe for braising them in a little olive oil and white wine, and stuffed with

mint and parsley, is superb. I far, far prefer this to the usual leaves-dipped-in-butter routine. I think the recipe is in The Classic Italian Cook Book, if it hasn't been posted here before.

 
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