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Level easy
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Prep time 05 minutes
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Cook time 35 minutes
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Total time 40 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Ingredients
- 4 artichoke
Ingredients for Curry Mayonnaise Dip
- 1 cup - mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons - curry powder
- 2 teaspoons - butter
Ingredients for Balsamic Vinegar Dip
- 1/2 cup - mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon - balsamic vinegar
Ingredients for Butter Dip
- 4 tablespoons - butter
Directions
- If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut of the thorned tips of all of the leaves. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke.
- Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke.
- Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.
- Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems tend to be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them. Alternatively you can leave the whole long stem on the artichoke, just cut off the very end of the stem, and peel the tough outside layer of the stem with a vegetable peeler.
- Rinse the artichokes in running cold water.
- In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket. Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 15-20 minutes cooking time). Cooking time depends on how large the artichoke is, the larger, the longer it takes to cook.
- Pull off outer petals, one at a time.
- Dip white fleshy end in melted butter or sauce. Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal.
- Continue until all of the petals are removed.
- With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart. The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart. Cut into pieces and dip into sauce to eat.
Directions
- Melt butter in a small pan. Add curry powder. Bubble gently for a minute or two over low heat to eliminate any bitterness from the curry powder. Cool and add to mayo.
When you are at the market buying artichokes, choose those in which the petals are still rather closed, not open. They will be more fresh and more tender than artichokes where the petals have opened. Also, artichokes that have been “frost kissed” are especially tender and delicious. They’ll look like they are a little burned by frost, so won’t be as pretty as those not frost bitten.