I've never prepared artichoke before, so I was very excited to prepare my first one:)
Easy Steam method that I will try next time. This time I simply steamed it stem up in plain water with lemon, garlic, basil and a little Himalayan salt.
How to Cook an Artichoke
1. 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. Ironically I cut my finger during my artichoke prep...with the knife, go figure!
2. Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke. It will oxidize quickly so rubbing lemon on the cut parts help it from getting brown.
3. Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.
4. 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 cut off the stems and
peel the outside layers which is more fibrous and bitter and cook the
stems along with the artichokes. I shave the stem until it's a light color, and ended up cutting more of the stem off that I planned, simple so
it could fit in the pot with the lid on.
5. Rinse the artichokes in running cold water...you always want to wash your veggies before consuming.
I placed a slice of lemon, and minced garlic on top then set the artichoke on top of that to steam in all the flavor. You can see my poor cut finger:p
6.
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 or place artichoke in the put standing on its stem area or other side as I did. 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. Took me 40 mins.
How to Eat an Artichoke
Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot. Typically they are served with a dip, either melted butter or mayonaise. However, since I don't eat butter or mayo, I'll be having mine seasoned just with the lemon. Another thing I will try in the future is using my mock-may as a dipping sauce (made from raw cashews).
1. Pull off outer petals, one at a time.
2. Pull
through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal (part above my thumb in pic).
Discard remaining petal.
Continue until all of the petals are removed.
3. 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. Eat it all up ^_^ I liked it just plain, but it's common to dip into a sauce or make into a sauce.
