Chew on This | Roasted Artichokes

I feel a bit like a dolt. A Johnny-come-lately. The last one to know - about the ease of preparing fresh artichokes.

I have never, ever, ever cooked, roasted or steamed an artichoke. I feel like such a ding dong for waiting for so long. I thought it would be hard. I thought it would be labor intensive. 


It really isn't. It's quite straight forward and the results are so worth it.

I bought two lovely artichokes and chopped off the top third. I also used scissors to trim the points off of the top of each outside petal. And I cut the stem down to about a 1/2" nub.

Next, I placed each choke on foil and doused with olive oil. I minced garlic and spread it on top and in-between as many petals as possible. I used a heavy sprinkle of Kosher salt and a generous squeeze of lemon. Wrap up tight with the foil and into a hot oven.

Pretty simple. I wonder why it took me so long to get with the artichoke makin' goodness?
Because, dang, these roasted chokes were so good!

When ready to eat, plate those babies with a few wedges of lemon and another sprinkle of salt. The petals pull off with ease and you can attack them with your teeth. The bottom of each petal is full of delicious, roasted artichoke meat. Bite down on the fatty part of the petal and pull. Do you see how many petals this lovely has? Go crazy people! When you reach the center, scrape off that prickly furry stuff and get busy chowing down on the artichoke heart. 

If you haven't already enjoyed a roasted choke, get to it. They're fabulous! And if you're like me and have thought that artichokes were too hard and too time consuming to master - think this no more! They're easy and the sense of accomplishment is quite exciting!

Cares

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Artichokes

2 artichokes, stem trimmed, top 1/3 cut off

4 T olive oil

1 large lemon, juiced

2 t minced garlic

Kosher salt

foil

Preheat oven to 425℉.

Place one prepared artichoke onto a piece of foil that is large enough to cover it completely. Drizzle 2 T of olive oil over the top of the artichoke. Pour half of your lemon juice over the artichoke as well. Smear 1 t minced garlic in between the top middle portion of the choke so that while it roasts the garlic will melt down into the center. Sprinkle with salt and wrap up the choke with the foil. Repeat process with your second artichoke.

Place foil wrapped artichokes into a shallow baking pan and place into the preheated oven for 60-75 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cool slightly. 

To enjoy, peel off the petals of the artichoke and use your teeth to pull the meat off of the bottom of the petal. Once you reach the center, scrape the fuzzy fur-like bits off of the core and chow down on the delicious artichoke heart - nirvana!