How to Make an Artichoke

turnips + tantrums

7 years ago

No longer a Restaurant-only mystery.

Growing up in California, artichokes were as common as potatoes on the dinner table, at least in my house. This might have had something to do with the fact that my great-grandmother had them sprouting up all over her backyard. I can remember the artichokes, growing like roses from the thick, hearty stems. We would boil them until they would bloom and dip them into golden bowls of melted butter, laced with salt and parmesan cheese. Good imagery, right? Now back to this spiky artichoke sitting in front of you.

You see artichokes, as terrifying as they look, only require a few short steps to prepare them. The majority or their cooking time comes from having to steam or boil them-which can take anywhere between 20-30 minutes. They may not be as common as potatoes, but they sure cook like them.

Let’s get to it.

Grab a sturdy cutting board, sharp knife, some kitchen shears and your artichoke.

Put your knife right up to the base of the choke and remove the stem.

Now for the top. Cut off the upper most point of the artichoke. There is no perfect measurement, it does not matter. I usually take off the tips from the first row.

See how pretty it’s starting to look?

Now for those pesky thorns. Using your kitchen shears, cut the leaves straight across, removing the thorn. Then run under some cold water to clean. Some people rub half a lemon all over to prevent it from turning brown, but I could care less, so I typically leave it out.

For the pressure cooker method, add one cup of water to the pot, then place artichoke on a trivet or steamer basket. Cook on high for 11 minutes and perform a quick release.

No pressure cooker? No problem. In a large pot, boil enough salty water to submerge that beautiful green artichoke. Drop in the artichoke and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until you can easily pull off a leaf from the bottom area where the stem was.

Serve with some aioli (fancy mayo) and consider yourself a conqueror of the artichoke.

enjoy!

the turnips + tantrums team

Aioli (aka Fancy Mayo)

The perfect accompaniment to steamed artichokes and sandwich spreads. Get your fancy mayo on.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: aioli, artichoke dip, fancy mayo

Prep Time: 5

Total Time: 5

Servings:

Calories: 767kcal

Author: turnips + tantrums

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayo
zest from half a lemon
juice from half a lemon
1/2 tsp parsley chopped
1/2 tsp basil chopped
1/2 tsp oregano chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients.
Use immediately or store covered in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Notes

Any combination of fresh herbs can be used for this aioli.

Nutrition

Recipe Source: turnips + tantrums original recipe

Looking for a vegetarian dinner to pair with this side? Check out our Veggie Lasagna recipe!