I love everything about this appetizer except the labor required trimming up the artichoke itself. That’s why I usually make more than one, plus my kids devour them.
You’ll need a long-serrated knife. Slice off the bottom stem and then the tips of each leaf individually. When you get close to the top you can see how I cut straight across to take the tip off.
Now you are ready to rinse, and steam. Put them in a metal strainer pot with 2 inches water. The boiling water shouldn’t touch the base of the artichoke.
Cover the lid that allows steam to pass through. Time is usually around 30 minutes or when you can easily pull out one of the leaves.
The tender “meat” at the base of the leaf is easily eaten by scraping it with your teeth. The dressing makes it extra delicious.
There are many herbs and versions of this marinade but the one I’ll share here is my kid’s favorite. Its easiest to do in a small blender but it’s possible to just whisk everything in a bowl as well.
I prefer to pour the mixture over the artichokes evenly rather than dip each leaf. Either way it’s a bit of a messy treat.
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayo (or sour cream)
- 2 tsp honey mustard or grey poupon (you could use dry mustard powder too)
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- handful of fresh dill, minced (I also use tarragon, parsley, oregano and basil often)
- ½ shallot, minced (you can use another type of onion, I just prefer shallots in my dressings)
- 2-3 cloves crushed garlic (I prefer to roast mine in olive oil and store bulbs of it the frig)
- s/p and a bit of crushed red pepper
- extra tip: keep a bowl to the side of your platter to discard of the eaten leaves.
Enjoy the doses of vitamin A, C and K, oddly enough all letters are in the word Artichoke!
