Artichokes

I have mentioned that artichokes are one of those divisive flavors in our household. I can’t say what got into me when I bought a four-pack of them, fresh, at Trader Joe’s. It certainly wasn’t to eat them all by myself, but it looks like they will be all mine.

I’ve never cooked fresh artichokes myself before, although I had a roommate once who loved to wrap them in plastic wrap and microwave them. The idea of tightly wrapped, microwaved plastic doesn’t sound appetizing at all. That sounds downright scary. So I searched around online and in a few cookbooks to see how to cook them and I settled on boiling them with lemon, on the advice of The Splendid Table. In the ones I’ve eaten so far, I haven’t found a fuzzy choke, and the outer leaves weren’t edible, but the hearts are so delicious. Mmm.

I would cook them this way again; it was pretty easy. I might also consider steaming them as they lost some of their color in the boil.

1. Boil a large pot of water, large enough to hold all your artichokes.

2. Prepare artichokes by removing outer leaves with thorns, cutting top inch or so off (depending on size) and trimming remaining leaves with scissors.

3. Zest the lemon and cut into quarters; add to boiling water.

4. Salt water generously.

5. Add artichokes and boil until tender, 20-40 minutes depending on their size.

6. Remove artichokes and drain.

7. Serve warm, with dressing or butter. I ate mine plain and it was delicious.