Basic Boiled Artichokes Recipes

EASY STEAMED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Prepare artichokes for steaming: Snap off tough outer leaves. Using a serrated knife, cut off top 1/3 of artichoke. Snip remaining sharp or spiky tips using kitchen shears. Trim stem so artichoke stands upright. Rub cut surfaces with lemon to prevent discoloration. Repeat with remaining artichokes and lemon.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot; add enough water so it reaches just below the basket. Squeeze lemon juice into water and add 1 tablespoon salt; bring to a boil. Place artichokes in steamer basket, stem-side up. Cover pot, and steam until heart is tender when pierced with a tip of a paring knife, and inner leaves pull out easily, 25 to 35 minutes; add more water to pot, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature with Easy Hollandaise or melted butter, if desired.

BOILED ARTICHOKE WITH A GARLIC BUTTER DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
• Quarter one of the lemons and add to the pot of boiling water.
• Cut the stems off the artichoke and cut the top inch off from the leaves (optional). You can also use scissors to cut the pointed tips off the leaves if you desire.
• Boil the artichokes for 35 minutes or until you can easily pull away one of the lower leaves.
• Fill individual ramekins with 1 tbsp of butter each and microwave until butter is melted (approximately 30 seconds).
• Stir the garlic paste into the ramekins of butter.
• Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon into the ramekins.
• To eat: pull the leaves off the artichoke, dip in sauce, and scrape the meat off the leaf with your teeth. Once you are out of leaves use a spoon to scrape out the "hair" of the artichoke and then eat the heart of the artichoke (the best part!) by dipping in the butter sauce.
• Enjoy!

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Squeeze the lemon halves into a large bowl and fill the bowl with cold water. Trim the bottom off each artichoke. Trim off the tough outer leaves. Snip the thorny tips off the top leaves. As each one is completed, place it in the lemon water to prevent it from discoloring.
• In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, and parsley and season with pepper. Pull each leaf open slightly from each artichoke and stuff a little filling into the opening. Place the artichokes snugly side by side in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add 1 inch of water to the pot. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and steam until the bottoms of the artichokes are tender, 35 to 45 minutes; a knife should insert easily. Make sure the water doesn't boil dry. Add more water if necessary.
• Serve each artichoke hot, on an individual plate.

BOILED WHOLE ARTICHOKES WITH MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil - large enough to submerge all four artichokes. Once the water is boiling, season it with salt to taste. Slice off the domed top quarter of the artichokes, remove the black tip of the stem and immediately place the artichokes in the boiling water. To cook the artichokes evenly and prevent them from bobbing at the surface, place a lid one size smaller than the pot you are using directly on top of the artichokes, weighing them down so they are submerged. Reduce the heat until the water is at a hard simmer, and cook the artichokes until you can easily pierce the bottom choke (where the stem meets the base) with a cake tester or the sharp tip of a thin knife with no resistance, 20 to 25 minutes.
• While artichokes cook, prepare the mayonnaise: Place the egg, egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice and two healthy pinches of salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Whiz for 5 seconds, then, with the machine on, slowly add about half the neutral oil in a thin, steady stream. Turn the machine off, and add 1 tablespoon cold water. Turn the machine back on, and finish adding the neutral oil in a steady stream. If mayonnaise is thick, blend in the remaining 1 tablespoon cold water. Mayonnaise should be light, satiny and silken. Taste the mayonnaise, and add salt as needed. Set aside at room temperature.
• Transfer the cooked artichokes to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, positioning them upside down to drain. Let stand at room temperature until they are cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Then remove the stems in an even cut, leaving the artichokes with a flat base. Peel the fibrous outer layer (and any strings) off the stems, cut the stems into 1/4-inch coins and reserve.
• Place the artichokes, stem side down, on a clean work surface. Gently open up the artichokes to reveal the inner leaves, using your fingers a little like the way you might open your own eye to receive drops, or even resembling the gesture you use to enlarge an image on your iPhone screen. Then pinch the whole purple and spiky choke at the center in one handful, and pluck it out, revealing the fuzzy hair that sits firmly attached in the cup of the heart. Remove this fuzz with your fingertip, or use a small spoon to scrape it away, taking care not to gouge or dig too deep into the goose-pimpled flesh.
• To assemble, place a healthy dollop of mayonnaise in the very center of each artichoke. Spoon in a few of the stem coins, then drizzle artichoke and mayonnaise with olive oil. Serve with additional mayonnaise and lemon wedges. (Any leftover mayonnaise will keep, refrigerated, up to 1 week.)

SIMPLE STEAMED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut stem from artichokes and discard, making sure the bottom of each artichoke is flat. Cut top 1 inch (or so) of the artichoke and discard. Snip the thorny ends from each artichoke leaf with a pair of kitchen scissors.
• Fill the bottom of a pot with a couple of inches of water, adding garlic, lemon juice, and bay leaf to the water. Place a steamer basket in the pot, making sure that the water does not flow over the bottom of the steamer basket.
• Place the artichokes in the basket, resting on the flattened bottoms.
• Bring water to a boil, cover the pot, and cook until the leaves can be easily pulled from the artichoke, 20 to 30 minutes.