Steamed Artichokes and Short-Order Cook Sauces
My family is nuts for artichokes. Well, actually not the whole family. Three of us and especially me but regardless, every year I anxiously await the moment that the DeNoble Family Farms table at our Farmers Market is covered with artichokes of all sizes. And every year I enjoy hearing again and again from the head of DeNoble Family Farm how Tillamook, Oregon deserves to be the artichoke capital of the United States…NOT Castroville, California.
This year with our wettest, coldest spring in 117 years (you see…all my complaining was justified), artichokes were a little slow to make it on the scene but they’re here now. And I’ve been cooking them up just like I always do…
Everyone has their favorite way to cook up artichokes – steam, grill, microwave, saute – but I tend to stick with my way of boiling them in a pot of water with or without much seasoning. Then, the real work goes into making the sauces. Everyone in my family tends to like a little something different and since I aim to please…I tend to appease them.
4 large artichokes
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
juice from 1/4 of a lemon (optional)
salt and pepper
Best Foods mayonnaise
ketchup
butter
curry
lemon juice
lemon pepper
Cut off the stem near the body and then cut off the prickly part of the artichoke about an inch in from the top. Rinse under water. Sprinkle the tops with salt and pepper.
Put your 4 artichokes in a large pot, stem side up, prickles down. Fill the pot with enough water to come up about an inch or inch and a half. Drop in your garlic. Squeeze in your lemon juice.
Put the lid on your pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce your heat and simmer/steam the artichokes for 20-25 minutes. If the water seems to be getting low you can always add a little more. Check your artichokes for doneness at 20 minutes by poking the stem part with a fork or pulling off a few little leaves. You want your artichokes to be soft but not soggy. The leaves should pull off fairly easily.
Drain your artichokes in a colander. They can either be served warm or at room temperature.
As for the sauces:
My kids like a sauce made of equal parts mayo and ketchup.
My hubby prefers melted butter.
And me, well I like a curried mayo sauce just because I have to complicate things.
Take a scoop of mayo. A couple pinches of curry. A small squeeze of lemon juice and a shake of lemon/pepper. Stir. Dip. Enjoy.
For easy clean-up, I always stick a colander or a large bowl lined with a plastic grocery bag on the table and everyone can toss their leaves in as they eat.
Happy Leaf Plucking!
YIELD: 4 large artichokes
LOVE IT! I love your new look….well and your luverly recipe above. BRAVO! It is all gorgeous!
Thank you so much, Sheila!! You kind soul you!
I think all that rain has put a damper on the fruit scene, too. My strawberry jam didn’t get made because the u-pick strawberries were too sad. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a warmer end of July and August!
I hear ya….what is up with this crazy weather? The rest of the country is having a heat wave and we still have our down jackets handy.
Only in Oregon – love it
Only in Oregon…indeed.
I am going to try this! I love artichokes but my one attempt at steaming them didn’t work out so I haven’t done it since. But your way of doing it seems pretty easy. Also – I had never successfully hard boiled eggs (and I swear I can actually cook!) until I saw your way of doing them when you wrote about the countertop salads. I’ve been hard boiling eggs like a madwoman ever since :]
I’ll be at the PDX farmer’s market on Saturday scoping out the artichokes!
Oh, Anna, I’m thrilled to hear your news about the hard-boiled eggs. Glad I could help out a little bit. And definitely pick up some artichokes at DeNoble Family Farm. You won’t be disappointed!!
I enjoy your site. hope to visit often
Thank you so much for stopping by, Dan!