artichokes!

partially eaten steamed artichoke stuffed w garlic clove

steamed artichoke. if you have a thing for artichokes, you’ll want to try this recipe. super simple. flavorful. don’t be intimidated by cleaning the artichoke. get rid of the lower leaves - they are too tough to eat. watch this tutorial and get your water boiling! there will appear to be a lot of wasted leaves from a prepped artichoke, as anne burrell says: “accept it and move on.” here’s how:

you’ll need:

artichokes, prepped
1 lemon
1 stick of butter
herbs, finely minced
garlic cloves, 1 whole one for each artichoke & 2 finely minced for dipping butter
salt

you'll do:

get out your largest pot & place a steamer rack in the bottom. fill pot with water - do not submerse steaming rack. turn on heat to medium high. put lid on pot.

make acidulated water in a bowl large enough to hold your prepped artichokes. water + juice from ½ a lemon.

place 1 whole, peeled garlic clove inside artichoke before you put artichoke in steamer pot.

place artichoke, cut side down, stem pointing up on steamer rack & replace lid. set timer for 20 minutes. after 20 minutes, check water level - add more water if you need to. i didn’t have to - but i used a super large pasta pot. set timer for addtional 15 minutes. check stem with toothpick - if toothpick inserts easily into stem - artichoke is done. turn off heat. replace lid.

while artichokes are steaming; make your dipping butter. place 1 stick of salted butter in  glass measuring cup along with 2 finely minced garlic cloves, ¼ of salt and juice from ½ a lemon. heat on 50% heat in the microwave for 1 minute. let the residual heat melt the butter the rest of the way. before serving - add any minced herbs you’d like. i used a sprig each of marjoram, oregano & parsley.

dip & eat.

note: you do know that you do not eat the entire artichoke leaf, right? you dip the leaf in butter and scrap the flesh off the leaf with your teeth. you’re welcome.