Recipe: Luscious Baby Artichokes with Quick and Easy Lemony Aioli
What sorcery is the artichoke? A vegetable so utterly delicious but also fear inducing to cooks and eaters alike. I can remember as a little girl my parents warning me about the poisonous hairs you had to cut away to get to the delicious heart — which was entirely worth the painstaking picking away at the fluff while making sure not one strand made its way to into your mouth. Why they told us it was poisonous is a mystery to me, since good parenting doesn't necessarily include feeding your children poisonous anything, but this was the Fielding way.
Artichokes can also be a huge pain to prep for a number of reasons and amount to what seems like a lot of waste when removing leaves for various dishes. When making an artichoke salad, one of my favorites, you essentially remove more than half of the leaves and stem before reaching leaves tender enough to blanche and flash fry. Which is why, when I happened upon exquisite baby artichokes at the farmers' market, I was thrilled to spend very little time prepping them before roasting them halved without removing any leaves before eating the 'choke with no fuss or attention paid to inedible parts.
This was a true "aha" moment for me. Artichokes without fear, fuss and waste. Just pure succulent artichokes slippery with herb and garlic scented buttery oil and so tender — it felt like there was some alchemy at play. So go forth and buy some baby artichokes for your next dinner party and when your guests try to prune and away any part of it, you can safely advise, "Eat. It. All."
Baby Artichokes With Lemony Aioli
Serves 4
6 cups water
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons reserved for aioli
12 baby artichokes
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed, 1 teaspoon reserved for aioli
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine 6 cups water and 4 tablespoons juice in a large bowl. Trim the tops of the artichoke hearts. Cut off stem of each artichoke to within 1 inch of base; peel stem. Cut an individual artichoke in half lengthwise. Place immediately in juice mixture until all artichokes have been halved.
3. Drain artichokes; pat dry with paper towels. Combine olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and herbs. Toss artichokes with olive oil mixture and coat well. Place in a single layer in a casserole. Dot with butter. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until tender, turning after 15 minutes. Remove foil and allow to cook for another 7 minutes until crispy and golden.
4. Combine remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic with mayonnaise. Serve aioli with warm artichokes.
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