A dear friend of mine emailed me the other day requesting that I post how I eat an artichoke.
Artichoke dip is divine but my favorite way to eat an artichoke is by steaming the whole thing and eating it, leaf by leaf until I get to the heart...the best part of the whole artichoke.
So Rochelle, here's how I eat my artichoke:
If the artichoke has thorns on the ends of the leaves you can cut them off (I usually skip this part. Remove stem. Rinse the artichoke in running cool water.
In a large pot add about 2 cups of water and a slice of lemon (lemon is optional and only used if I have a lemon on hand).
Add artichokes and bring water to a boil allowing to boil for 2 minutes then bring down to a simmer. Cook for 25-45 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke. You know it's done if you can easily peel the leaves off.
How to eat:Everyone uses a little something different to dip their artichokes in. Mayo, melted butter, sour cream...these have all been mentioned to me before.
Mayonaise is not my favorite and can't fathom ruining my artichoke by dipping it in straight mayo...gag! You can add a dab of mayo to some homemade vinaigrette dressing (let me know if you want my recipe) or if you don't have any homemade on hand the BEST dressing to use on salads and artichokes is pictured above. It's the closest thing I've found to my mom's homemade red wine vinaigrette dressing.
Pour some dressing in a small dish (add a dab of mayo if that's your thing). Pull off petals one at a time and dip them into the dressing. You don't have to dip the whole leaf into the dressing, just the bottom where you can see the "meat".
Tightly grip the top of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft,delicious portion of the petal. Repeat this process until you reach the baby leaves that are white in color. You can pull multiple baby petals off and dip together.
Work your way down to the middle (the heart) of the artichoke. Remove the few baby petals that cover the heart. Covering the heart is a fuzzy layer known as the "choke". Remove the choke with a spoon and discard.
Once the choke has been removed cut the heart into bite size pieces. Dip pieces into dressing and savor.
Artichoke hearts are used in most artichoke dips and found canned in grocery stores, but nothing can compare to a fresh artichoke heart.Eating an artichoke is an enjoyable and delicious process and my favorite way to enjoy artichokes.
Do you like artichokes? How do you eat yours? What do you use to dip your petals in? Have any good artichoke recipes you'd like to share?
22 people are bringing SEXY back:
Thank you! I can't wait to try them. I'll send you that recipe as soon as I can. I'm still waiting on getting it from my sister-in-law.
You homemade vinaigrette sounds delicious... I'd love that recipe.
yum. my recipe is, go to France on holiday, relax, wander along streets, gaze in shop windows. find a little bistro and let them take care of it all. relax a bit more, use fingers, to dip in to heavily salted melted butter. bliss
lol back in normal land, rush to italian deli, buy from the barrels, ask for 4 cans of anti pasti artichokes. use fresh ones on that day. chop the hearts roughly. add to pan with an onion already fried till soft,depending on day add cream or a can of chopped tomatoes. Season and through over cooked dried store bought pasta.... lol add the 4 cans to larder where you find you already have 4 cans you forgot about.
lol
I meant throw over pasta! DOH!
I'd never had an artichoke until I married Kyle, who loves them. We just dip them in melted butter. I totally craved them when I was prego with Ryder. Haven't had one in so long, but now I want one!
My Mom used to always buy that brand of dressing and tell me that it was made for me, since it has my name! I still like to buy it for that reason! Ha.
If you like artichoke, you have to try the Roasted Artichoke appetizer at The Cheesecake Factory. Perfectly seasoned and they have this to die for sauce to dip it in!!
Wow, your photographs are making me drool. Grocery store, here I come!
Okay, here's two recipes for the dip.
Cari’s Artichoke Dip
1 C. marinated artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
½ C. mayo
2 C. Parmesan cheese, grated
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
crusty bread chunks, crackers
Preheat oven to 350º. Mix ingredients until pretty smooth. Bake covered for 30 min. Uncover and bake 10 min. more.
or
Carol’s Artichoke Heart Dip
1 can artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained and chopped
6 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
1 scant C. mayo
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
7 oz. can green chilies, diced
Preheat oven to 325º. Mix together all ingredients except 2 oz. parmesan cheese and put in shallow casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake uncovered for 15-20 min.
I have no idea if you can substitute fresh artichokes in them. You'll have to try it and let me know.
Thanks again for posting this just for me!
My mouth literally salivated as I read this post! I'm kind ticked that Matt doesn't like artichokes. Oh, well, more for me, huh? I like them with butter.
Claim Jumper has the best artichoke. Fire-roasted with a tomato relish and an excellent dipping sauce.
And I do have a humdinger of an artichoke recipe:
http://www.rookie-cookie.com/2009/09/ethans-grilled-artichokes-with-chipotle.html
Whitney - yes I recall that recipe and marked it to try. Thanks for the reminder. Reading it again made my mouth water...as do most of your recipes.
I LOVE me a steamed artichoke.
My husband had never eaten an artichoke before we met. My heart broke for his loss and on our first trip (home) to california, I took him to my favorite restaurant. If you EVER EVER EVERtravel up to northern california, a stop in Castroville (just outside Monterrey) is a MUST. There is a restaurant right off the freeway called The Giant Artichoke that has a 20 ft artichoke thing in front of the building. It's a dive restaurant/fruit & nut stand with the BEST food ever. It's our favorite place to eat, and my family has been going there for as long as I can remember. We always order the artichoke platter that comes with a huge steamed artichoke-with garlic butter to dip, deep fried/battered artichoke hearts (heaven) and a slice of walnutty artichoke bread (all for $9 woot) and share. delicious.
I must have a steamed artichoke now. It sounds fabulous.
Mayo is a beautiful thing, but totally nasty by itself. Melted butter w/ garlic salt is my dip of choice for steamed petals, and ranch dressing for deep fried hearts.
I rarely cut the thorns off, either.
Beautiful pictures. This made me homesick!
I am hungry.
Artichokes were always a favorite growing up- we love them! I introduced them to Steve while we were dating.
We make a Hollandaise sauce to dip them in-- butter, lemon, and egg yolks...it's super yummy.
Oooooh, I never thought to use that dressing. I will have to go nab some and give it a try. Thanks!
I love them. STEAMED with melted butter.
Done and Done.
I love artichokes! And your photos make them look so pretty!
I love mine dipped in butter! I am going to have to try that dressing though! Sounds yummy! Thanks for making me hungry!
I love mine steamed with a bit of soy sauce, garlic and lemon in the water. I dip them in garlic butter...I reserve mayo (with butter) for the heart and the heart only!
I love mine steamed with a bit of soy sauce, garlic and lemon in the water. I dip them in garlic butter...I reserve mayo (with butter) for the heart and the heart only!
LOVE artichokes! Craig introduced them to me on our honeymoon. We eat them the same way you do, with butter. But that dressing sounds divine. I'll have to try it next time!
I love them so much! We dip them in melted butter. Very delish.
So yummy! I love artichokes and I haven't thought to serve them to my kids, but I bet they would think it was fun. Thanks for the idea. And for the vinaigrette idea, too. We always just dip them in butter, which is delicious, and sometimes I add some garlic to the butter which is also yummy. I am absolutely craving an artichoke now! :)
We're big artichoke fans too, and we eat them exactly the same way - except I prefer just straight up melted butter! I put artichokes in all my pasta dishes and any salads I can think of! Love the post and pictures (oh, if only I could take pictures like that....)
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