Steamed artichokes are one of our favorite ways to start a meal. They’re simple to prepare, although you do have to plan ahead as they take about an hour of steaming to become tender. We had these for the first time at the Chart House restaurant  in La Jolla, California and fell in love! The chef was kind enough to give us an outline of how to make them, and we’ve tweaked and twisted it ever since.

Steamed Artichokes:

1. Take a kitchen scissors and cut off the thorned tips of all of the leaves. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and won’t stick the person eating the artichoke. By the way, in the interest of saving time, we often skip this step altogether – they still taste great!

2. Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke.

3. Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.

4. Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke.

5. Rinse the artichokes in running cold water.

6. In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, 2 cloves of minced garlic, a few gluts of soy sauce, white wine & Worcestershire sauce, a few sprinkles of summer savory & a few dashes of Tabasco (sometimes we get a little crazy and generously sprinkle red pepper flakes as well!) .  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.  Add the artichokes and cover. Cook for 45 to 60 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off.  This recipe can be for one to as many artichokes will fit in your pot. Just be sure that there is always liquid in the bottom of the pan. Cooking time depends on how large the artichokes are – the larger the artichokes, the longer they take to cook!

Now that the artichokes have cooked, its time to serve & eat.They’re usually  served with a dip, typically melted butter or light mayonnaise. We have both around here!

1. Pull off outer petals, one at a time.

2. Dip white fleshy end in butter or mayonnaise. Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal. Continue until all of the petals are removed.

3. With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the “choke”) covering the artichoke heart. The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart- and in our opinion the best part! Cut into pieces and dip  into your mayo or butter – or both!

We hope you enjoy these easy to make, healthy artichokes as much as we do!

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Cheers,