How to Cook an Artichoke

Artichoke with Butter

A foreign vegetable that isn’t as scary as it seems.

Artichokes are thorny, somewhat ugly vegetables. They look like big thistles with layers of thick, muddled leaves. The most common way to use artichokes, or the tender “chokes” that are sold in jars of lemon juice, are to add them to sauces or stews in combination with other root vegetables. Using the already cooked or cured chokes are very easy, but to actually COOK an artichoke is something many people are scared to do. Mostly because they just don’t know the first thing to do with it.

There is a very good tutorial with pictures of how to prepare an artichoke, found here on Simply Recipes. No need to reinvent the wheel. However, I have my own version of how to cook it. I was first trained to cook baby artichokes in the oven with oil and breadcrumbs, a dish that my grandma would make during the winter and especially during holidays. Peeling away each leaf and enjoying each bite took longer than usual to eat a vegetable, which was my attraction to it. Each artichoke I had was different and so much fun to eat.

But baby artichokes are extremely hard to find. Where my grandma got them every time is beyond me. It took me a few times at the market to actually buy the big artichokes. Using the tutorial in the above link as my guide, I played around with different herbs types of butters until I got the combination I wanted. Regular butter didn’t do the trick for me. Instead, taking some tablespoons of Smart Balance tub butter made with olive oil, when melted, is much more tasteful.

A word to the wise, though. Do not buy the artichoke until you want to cook it that day. Its leaves turn brown very quickly. If you need to buy them beforehand, my only suggestion is to douse them with lemon juice in a tightly sealed container.

Artichoke with Butter

ARTICHOKE WITH MELTED BUTTER

1 Artichoke
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of dried thyme
3 tbsp of Smart Balance butter with olive oil

1. After cutting the tips of the outer leaves and sawing off the top point, place the artichoke top-side down in a a few inches of water in a pot. The water should cover about 1/4 of the artichoke.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. After the 15 minutes, rotate the artichoke on its sides for about 5 minutes each.

4. Melt the Smart Balance butter in a separate pot or in the microwave.

5. Serve artichoke and butter hot. To eat, tear off each leaf and dip in the butter. Scrape the bottom part of the butter with your teeth and discard the rough tops.

6. Once you get to the choke, feel free to eat the whole leaf if it is tender enough.

7. The bottom “heart” is also edible.