• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Kitchen Essentials
  • Client Projects
  • About
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Vimeo
Rosemary Mark

Rosemary Mark

Recipes tried and true by RecipeRose

  • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Beverages
  • Breads
  • Sweets
  • Entrees
    • Breakfast
  • Soups, Salads, Sides
  • Vegetarian
  • Brands
  • The 'Perfect' Snack Bar

    They had us at ‘perfect’! A perfect or best-ever anything is intriguing especially when it’s a recipe,…

  • More Tapas for Holiday Appetizers

    [donotprint]Patatas Bravas (Roasted Potatoes with Spicy Tomato Sauce), is probably the most common tapas dish…

  • Edamame Green Monster Dip

      Scare up this hummus with edamame and walnuts for your munchkins to dig into…

  • Holiday Appetizers, Spanish Style

    [donotprint]Spain’s famous finger foods, are delicious and incredibly versatile for winter holidays or any time…

  • English Muffin Bread – perfect for Summer

    Summer bread baking – why not? Use your microwave! No hot oven needed. It sounded ludicrous…

 

The Perfect Artichoke

Appetizers & Snacks

Share
Pin
Tweet
Email
Print

[donotprint]This artichoke is so beautiful I just had to show you. Rarely are they so “picture perfect.”  Depending on the weather, April is the last month for local artichokes from  Castroville. This coastal area, between San Francisco and Monterey, grows some of the best artichokes in the world. Take a tour of an artichoke farm at www.artichokes.org.
My very simple dip for steamed artichokes won over my skeptical Italian mother-in-law some years ago. She frowned at the thought of anything but stuffed, baked chokes. That is, until she tasted my concoction. From then on, wintertime Sunday dinners were not complete without artichokes for starters.[/donotprint]

[print_link]
Steamed (Microwaved) Artichokes *
(see Divine Artichoke Dip below)

Rinse artichoke(s). With a serrated knife, cut off the top quarter. Pull off the small leaves around the bottom and cut off the stem. With scissors, snip off the tops of the leaves to remove the sharp points.
Sit artichoke, stem side down, in a microwaveable bowl. Add a tablespoon or two of water. Cover and microwave on high about 2 minutes* per small-medium choke (about 4 minutes for large artichokes). The exact timing will take some practice, and depends on the temperature of the artichoke. Cold chokes take longer to cook. Remove from microwave and let stand at room temperature, covered, until cooled. Then pour off excess water and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Divine Artichoke Dip
This makes enough for 1 large artichoke. In a small bowl, stir together:
Mayonnaise (about 1/3 cup)
Grated cheese, good quality pecorino Romano or Parmesan (about 1 rounded tablespoon)
Balsamic vinegar (a drop or two)

My casual way to eat artichokes (forget scooping out the center!): Place the artichokes on a plate. One at a time peel off the leaves, starting from the bottom, and dip into mayonnaise (a little will do). Pull the underside of the leaf over your bottom teeth, scraping off the subtle sweet artichoke flesh.
When all gobbled up, remove the tiny soft leaves and fuzz from the stem by sliding a paring knife under it as you would do with a grapefruit. Cut the remaining artichoke meat into 2-4 pieces. Dip into mayonnaise and enjoy!

* Kitchen Notes:
– When buying artichokes, choose those with leaves that are closed or hugging the center; they’re freshest.
– The “steamed” artichoke photo above is a large one that two of us share. For more people, I often cook 4 smaller chokes at a time in a flat-bottomed Pyrex casserole dish that happens to have a great cover. Four chokes at a time will take 7-8 minutes on high. It is always best to undercook, then add more time if needed. Poke a knife into the bottom of the artichoke. If it is soft, it’s done.
– To steam artichokes on the stovetop you need a metal steam basket or similar. Steam baskets are collapsable, colander-like racks with little legs, that fit medium sauce pans or up to 6-qt pots. Fill a pan with about 1-inch or so of water (pan size depends on how many artichokes you are cooking). Sit the steam basket in the pan and place prepared artichokes on the steamer, stem side down. Cover and cook on high 30 minutes or until artichoke bottoms are tender. Check water level several times; add more water as needed.

Share
Pin
Tweet
Email
Print

2 Comments

Previous Post: « Mediterranean Spiced Chicken
Next Post: Triple Play Walnut Crunch »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Jane Rubey says

    March 25, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    My steamed artichokes take about 45 minutes, stovetop, cooking 3 at a time in steamer pan atop boiling water. I need more than an inch of water for that time duration to prevent boiling the water pan dry.

    Am hoping to attend the Artichoke Festival this year in May. hope, hope!

    Reply
  2. Rita says

    March 25, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    Thank you for the feedback, Jane! I’ve not steamed artichokes on the stovetop for sometime now.
    I’ll edit the instructions. When is the artichoke festival this May? Is it in downtown Castroville?

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to my kitchen! With an eye for uncomplicated and delicious food, I create
real-life recipes for some of America’s most beloved name brands. Read more.

Join RecipeRose to receive my newest recipes in your inbox.

I don’t cook spam – or send it!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Popular Recipes

  • The Best Buttermilk Cake with Natural Pink Frosting
  • Raisin Cherry Fruitcake. Not a ‘Funny-Fruit’ Cake
  • The Trick for Seeded Artisan Breads
  • Yeast Water Dough Sticky Buns!
  • Yeast Water Pizza Dough

Browse RecipeRose

  • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Beverages
  • Breads
  • Sweets
  • Entrees
    • Breakfast
  • Soups, Salads, Sides
  • Vegetarian
  • Brands

Footer

Receive my newest recipes in your inbox.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Search RecipeRose

RecipeRose on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Rosemary Mark · All Rights Reserved