Steamed Whole Artichoke with Lemon Butter Dipping Sauce

Spring is here, well kind of. Seems to depend on the day. I am sooo ready for warm weather. I am definitely someone who's mood is affected by the weather, whether I like it or not, and I am just plain sick of the cold, rain and snow. I thought we were getting away without bad weather because the winter was so mild. In fact, winter just tricked us and started later. I really hope we don’t skip spring and head right to 100 degree summer temperatures. Only time will tell.

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons! Fall weather, sitting outside, grilling a few last times before winter comes. I also like spring weather, although doesn’t seem to be as dependable - this year proving that point! Spring gets me excited about farmer’s markets, attempting to garden, amazing produce. Well this past weekend one of my favorite spring produce made its debut - artichokes. Even better, they were on sale, so I picked up two.

You can eat frozen artichoke hearts year round (also canned, although I always prefer frozen).   They are great in pasta, in salad, on pizza, made into a little sauce for chicken breasts, lots of optios. Zach and I also just really love whole artichokes streamed, so that is what I decided to do last weekend.

I bet most people find them intimidating, but I think you can do it! My most important tip is a good knife. Let’s get started.

Steamed Whole Artichoke with Lemon Butter Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

Whole artichoke (or multiple)

Lemon

Chicken stock

Peppercorns

Bay leaves

Garlic

Coriander seed

Parsley

Butter

First up, wash the artichoke(s). Then use a good knife to remove the top one inch or so and the stalk/stem from the bottom. I think this is the hardest part, and again a good knife makes all the difference.

Better Bonus Tip: I find using a serrated knife works best.

Next, clip the tops of the leaves if you see prickly ones. You won’t eat this part of the leave, but you don’t want to poke yourself.

After they are prepped and ready, slice a lemon in half and rub half of the lemon on the artichoke top(s). This will give flavor, but also help preserve the green color.

Next, fill a pot with chicken stock. Add lemon halves (after squirting in the juice also), peppercorns, coriander seed, crushed garlic cloves (don’t mince, just crush the entire clove to release some flavor), a few parsley stems and couple bay leaves. I really didn’t measure here since it doesn’t really matter.

Better Bonus Tip:  I have also seen people just put the artichoke(s) in a steaming basket with water below in the pan. I prefer my method so you get lots of flavor.  Feel free to be flexible with your method, including the items you add. Use what you have or think sounds good.

Add the artichoke(s), bottom up into the liquid. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 

The artichoke is ready when you can pierce the bottom with a knife and remove it easily. Once done, remove from the liquid and let cool slightly. I like to eat mine warm, just not fresh out of the liquid because its too hot.

While the artichoke(s) is cooling slightly, melt 2 T of butter. Once melted, add juice from 1/2 lemon and stir to combine.

To eat, pull off the leaves individually, dip the lighter in color end into the lemon butter and use your teeth to scrape the meaty flesh.

Better Bonus Tip: I did intend to add garlic (or at least garlic powder) to the lemon butter, just forgot. Feel free to try the garlic addition. Also, other ideas for dipping sauces - mayo or yogurt, plain or with citrus and/or herbs. I personally haven’t tried either of these, but are also popular choices.

So all you foodies out there, cover your ears....I don’t eat the hearts from fresh artichokes. Honestly, I get too nervous. There is a layer of choke, which are the thorny like stringy pieces and are known to be a choking hazard. To get to the heart, you have to remove the choke and I just don’t do it. Feel free to give it a try!

When I made these last weekend, I got two and my husband and I each ate an entire one by ourselves - that was dinner...oops!! Oh well, they were delicious.

Think you can do it? I do! Enjoy and lets cross our fingers spring is around the corner and will stay in full force, so we can enjoy nice weather and fresh in season produce more frequently. 

~Ashley