Artichokes were something my folks always used to cook back when I was a kid. They are really simple to make but you should know they are a little time consuming. These Artichokes with Lemon Butter have a wonderful slightly licorice flavor that is great to serve as an appetizer. I often make them when my hubby and I are hanging out on a weeknight and want a little variety!
The Artichokes with Lemon and Butter are also low carb, and the butter part is (obviously) high fat, so it works great with our diet. I don’t always find the best looking or a good size of artichoke in the grocery store, so when I see them and they look good, I usually buy them. They can sit in the fridge for a few days, but if you go over a week before cooking them, they start to break down and get flimsy. The above photo is an artichoke I would purchase!
I have seen so many cooking shows and read lots of recipes where chef’s roast the artichoke in the oven, or even they finish them in the oven after boiling for a bit. But I have found that they are so dense and fibrous that boiling them for about an hour seems to be the best route. Without doing that, I find, they always stay a bit hard.
Cooking the Artichoke with Lemon
Here is what you do. Bring a pot of water with a sliced lemon and two good pinches of salt to a boil. Meanwhile, get the artichoke(s) and cut the stem off so it can sit level, and then slice the top of the artichoke off as well. Sometimes they are not level, but don’t worry about that! They can sit off center, no problem.
Then, with kitchen sheers cut the top of each leaf off. These can be REALLY pointy so just be careful as you go. This helps once it is cooked so they don’t poke you when eating it.
Then, let them boil in the water for about an hour. You might need to add water a few times as you go as a lot of water will evaporate off as it boils.
The best way to know they are done, besides timing it (which you should do – but you should also test it before you take them out) is to rip a leaf off of one of the chokes, and let it cool for a minute. Then scrape the ends with your teeth to see if it is tender – if it is, you are good to go! Here is what the scraping looks like, and this is how you eat the choke until you get to the center where the heart is!
Once they are done, take them out and leave them in a colander for about 10 minutes so they cool. I like to do this so a lot of the water will run out. When you can handle them, put them on a serving platter and let cool some more.
Melt some butter in the microwave or on the stovetop and add in the juice of 1/2 a lemon (of course – use this squeezer!) and stir it up!
Serve them on a platter with the lemon butter. Dip each end into the butter for a delightful treat!
When you get to the heart, from peeling and scraping the layers one by one, they will get a little purple looking and the leaves get smaller as you go. Eat where it is tender, and where it isn’t – discard. Here is what it will look like once you get to the center:
From here, use a spoon or just pull at the small leaves with your fingers. Remove all the fine hairs that are attached to the heart. Sometimes the heat is still pretty intense a this point, so do what works for you. Here is what it looks like when all the hairs are taken off the heart. This one I was able to pull all of them off instead of using the spooon. But either way works!
Then, just slice the artichoke heart up and chow down! I cut it up and put it in the rest of the butter and using a fork or your fingers, enjoy that yummy heart! It really is so delicious. Every time I make them Joe and I always say how good they are. I hope you enjoy these Artichokes with Lemon and Butter as much as we do!
Artichokes with Lemon and Butter
1 hour 15 minutes
Author Wendy Miller
Ingredients
1 Artichoke
1 & 1/2 Lemon
1/2 stick Butter
2 pinches salt
Instructions
Put a pot of water with a sliced lemon and the sat on the stove and bring it to a boil.
Trim your artichoke. Cut the bottom off, cut the top, and slice the top of each leaf off.
Boil the artichoke for one hour until tender.
Let artichoke cool. Melt the butter and 1/2 lemon. Put all on a platter and serve!
Looking for another veggie option? Try these sprouts…
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