How To Cook Artichokes Like A Pro Chef

Artichokes are an essential spring vegetable. The thorny, rough exterior can make these thistles seem intimidating, but they can be trimmed and ready to cook in just 10 minutes. Here I’ll cover how to clean, cook, and eat artichokes, and I even included a super-simple (but insanely yummy) dipping sauce. So you’re officially all out of excuses—it’s time to master the artichoke.

Yields: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins

Ingredients

• 3

  medium artichokes

• 1

  lemon, cut in half

• 6

  cloves garlic, peeled, smashed

Extra-virgin olive oil, for grilling or roasting

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 c.

  mayonnaise

• 1 tbsp.

  Dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp.

  chopped fresh thyme

Directions

To Clean

1. Cut 1 artichoke stem until about 1″ remains. Pluck bottom row of leaves and any leaves on stem. Using a vegetable peeler, remove outer layer of stem. Using a sharp knife, cut 1″ to 1 1/2″ from top of artichoke. Rub cut surface with 1/2 lemon. Using kitchen sheets, cut top 1/4″ of each leaf on artichoke, removing the thorn.
2. Rinse artichoke under cold running water, gently separating the leaves as you rinse. Pat dry and squeeze out excess water. Repeat with remaining artichokes.

To Steam

Fill a deep pot with 2″ to 3″ water and place over high heat. Set a steamer basket in pot. Once water is boiling, reduce heat to medium. Add 3 cleaned artichokes, 6 peeled, smashed cloves garlic, and 1/2 lemon. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook until leaves are tender and can easily be pulled from exterior of artichoke, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer artichokes to a cutting board and cut in half lengthwise. Using a melon baller or spoon, scoop out fuzzy choke; reserve garlic for dipping sauce.

To Grill

Follow the steps for steaming artichokes. Prepare a grill for medium heat; preheat 5 minutes. Clean and grease grates with extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange 6 steamed artichoke halves on grill cut side down and grill, rotating 90° halfway through, until starting to char, 4 to 5 minutes.

To Roast

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut 3 cleaned artichokes in half lengthwise and rub cut sides with 1/2 lemon. Using a melon baller or a spoon, scoop out fuzzy choke. Arrange artichokes on a sheet tray. Place 6 peeled, smashed cloves garlic in hollow of artichoke halves. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; season with a generous pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn artichokes cut down, keeping garlic clove in place. Drizzle with another 2 tablespoons oil; season with another generous pinch of salt. Tightly cover sheet tray with foil. Roast artichokes until tender and outer leaves easily pull away, 35 to 40 minutes. Use roasted garlic for dipping sauce (see above).

Dipping Sauce

Transfer steamed or roasted garlic to a small bowl. Juice 1/2 lemon over. Mash garlic with a fork and add 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, and a pinch of kosher salt and stir to combine.

How To Cook Artichokes

How To Cook Artichokes

Ingredients

• The artichokes: Artichokes are one of my favorite, most versatile vegetables to cook with. Not only are they packed with nutrients, they’re easier to prepare than you might think. I’ll show you how best to clean and prep them before cooking them in a variety of ways (from steaming to grilling and roasting). When shopping, make sure that the leaves are tightly packed; if the leaves are opening up, that means it’s probably past its freshness. Also, I’m working with globe artichokes, which are much larger than little baby artichokes, but those are fun to use for dips and such.

• The lemon: I can’t encourage you enough to not skip the step of rubbing the artichokes with lemon to prevent oxidation. It makes the artichokes taste their best and maintains their beautiful bright green color.

• The dipping sauce: The best part about my method is that you use steamed or roasted garlic after cooking the artichokes to put this sauce over the top. Fresh lemon juice, some mayonnaise, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and fresh thyme, plus a pinch of salt are my go-to sauce ingredients whenever I want the artichokes to shine.

Step-By-Step Instructions For Cleaning Artichokes

A sharp knife is your best friend when prepping artichokes. Cut the stem until about 1″ remains. Pluck off the bottom row of leaves, plus any on the stem. Peel off the tough outer layer of stems with a vegetable peeler. Then cut off 1″ to 1 1/2″ from the top of the artichoke.

Artichokes

Rub the cut surface of the artichoke with 1/2 lemon to prevent any oxidation.

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After that, using kitchen shears, cut off the top 1/4″ of each leaf, removing the thorn, which is less than pleasant to eat.

Trimming Artichoke

Depending how you cook them, sometimes I’ll call for cutting them in half lengthwise and removing the fuzzy choke. This is what I mean:

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What Artichokes Taste Like

Artichokes taste like a cross between broccoli, celery, and asparagus with a hint of hazelnuttiness and a smidge of bitterness. The texture of the choke is super-creamy and buttery without actually tasting fatty, making these the perfect vehicle for a mayo-based dip or dunk in melted butter.

How To Eat Artichokes

Artichokes are best eaten from the outside in. Working with a halved artichoke, cut side down, gently pull one of the leaves until it separates from the artichoke. The end of the leaf that was attached will have a small amount of tender artichoke flesh that you can scrape off with your teeth or dunk into lemony aioli or melted butter.

Once all the leaves are gone, you should be left with just the artichoke heart and the stem. The entire heart and stem are edible and the best part of the whole experience. There’s a bit of work involved to get to the good stuff, but it’s worth it.

Artichokes are kind of like steamed blue crabs in a way—they’re a social gathering food. They’re a great appetizer for sharing with a group; chatting while you all pick and dip the leaves to get to the surprise inside.

What To Serve With Artichokes

• Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pizza: Keep the whole meal handheld by serving pizza and roasted artichokes together (or simply scatter the artichokes on top!).

• Burrata, Pea, & Prosciutto Tortellini: Though a little heavier by including tortellini, this is still a fresh, springtime dish, where the artichokes will beautifully complement the peas and smoky meat.

• One-Pan Lemon Chicken & Orzo: I love any hearty meal that comes together in one pan, and having some artichoke leaves to snack on while diving into the chicken and orzo will give you and your guests a fun combination of textures and flavors.

• Baked Eggplant Parm: Artichokes are a classic in Italian cooking, so keep things on theme and ßveggie-forward with our classic eggplant Parmesan recipe.

• Cauliflower Tacos: Another fun vegetarian made that’s handheld and could include artichokes on the side or right inside the taco, whatever you prefer!

Made This?

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Related Video: Grilled Artichokes