What I’ve found is people either LOVE artichokes or aren’t quite sure how to eat them. I grew up with artichokes and absolutely love them.
What I like to make MOST are grilled artichokes but that does start with steaming them first so we’ll start there.
The key to cooking artichokes is all about prepping them so let’s get to it.
4 Whole Fresh Artichokes
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Artichokes are the flower of the plant & have these spiky ends at the leaf so prepping them is all about removing those ends.
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Using a sharp, long knife you’re going to cut off about the top inch to 1 1/2 inches of the flower.
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With a pair of kitchen sheers cut off all the spiky ends that remain.
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Cut off the bottom end of the stem, but not the whole thing. This is my FAVORITE part but it can get a bit fibrous & we don’t want that!
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Last you’re going to cut them in half lengthwise. This will help them to cook more evenly & more quickly.
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Now it’s time to cook them! Add enough water to the bottom of a steamer, I usually do as much as I can without hitting the bottom of the steamer insert. If you don’t have a steamer, its all good, you can get an insert from the grocery store for pretty cheap or use a colander in it’s place (as long as it’s metal not plastic). You just want to keep the artichokes out of the water otherwise they get mushy & gross.
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Add the artichokes to the steamer & cover them. It should take about 40 minutes to cook them but I start checking them about 25 minutes in. To check them just take a pair of tongs & try to pull off a leaf. They are done when it’s easy to pull one off.
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Serve with a vinaigrette or dump ranch
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Enjoy!
