Fresh artichokes. I love em’, but as a kid I always questioned why we were scraping the tiny amount of flesh off the leaves with our teeth. I felt it was just to eat the butter. Not that I had a problem with that.
But the artichoke is a really healthy veggie, one artichoke delivering a third of our daily requirement for fiber and more antioxidants than almost any other vegetable. What I like about it is how long it takes to eat. It keeps me busy for a while, which is a good thing.
If you have never prepared whole artichokes to eat, it’s easier than you think. If you haven’t served artichokes to your kids please do so! It’s better to show them how to eat them at home than for them to figure out how they go about consuming one in public.
My oldest son once went on and on about disliking artichokes. When he finally saw me eating one, he said, “Oh, that’s how you do it? I thought you ate the whole leaf.” Which he tried to do at a friend’s house. Some people don’t know which side of the leaf to eat either. Anyway, it’s a great interactive food for the kid’s to experience before they order it on a date for the first time.
Since artichokes brown easily due to oxidation, I prep mine right before I am going to steam them. It helps somewhat combat the ragged, brown edges which can appear.
How to Prep an Artichoke for Steaming
- Cut the stem so it is about 1/2″ in length
- Remove any small, dehydrated leaves from the base
- Slice about 1″ off the top
- Use kitchen shears to snip thorns off all the remaining petals
Steam artichokes in an 1″ of water. I like to add lemon, fresh thyme and garlic to the pan for a little flavor and the lemon helps prevent a little more browning.
While the artichokes are steaming, make the sauce. You can’t see the basil leaves here, they are under the cream.
While melted butter is the classic pairing with artichokes, I wanted to make a different dipping sauce to enjoy with these lovely veggies. Everyone loved the new twist and the sauce was thick so it made you feel like you were really eating something.
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Jerry | Simply Good Eating says
Looks like a wonderful artichoke dish and love the dipping sauce idea for this Cathy!
Pam says
I made this last week and it was wonderful! Thank you for posting the recipe.
Jason says
I made the sauce. It tastes yummy but I had issues with there being a lot of liquid still separated from the cream in the end. Looked odd but still tasted great.
(Disclaimer: Novice cook)
Also I noticed the butter is not mentioned in the written instructions for the sauce but is in the ingredients list.
Cathy says
Hmm, not sure why that happened since I’ve never seen it do it with this recipe. Butter is added at the end, before thickener.
Brandy Hardy says
I must say I have always wanted to try using whole artichokes but I am definietly intimadated! But I think I can do this one!
Cathy says
I’m rooting for you!
Miss Motty says
Is it just me, or has the “print recipe” button gone away?! Ack. I prefer to have a printed recipe over having to have my Mac open in the kitchen during the fray. I’m also stingy about paper and ink – and I really liked the Noble Pig print outs (very attractive sheets).
Cathy says
It’s still there.
renee sirois says
This sounds so good haven’t had crab legs in awhile