Artichoke hearts

[es1967]

I got some artichoke hearts in my veggie order this week and I'm not sure what to do w them? Any tips-recipes? What would you serve them with?

[cristeen]

Did you get artichoke hearts? Canned or frozen? I like to add them to pasta salad or pizza.

If you got fresh artichokes, that's a different matter. Artichokes are a veggie unto themselves - yummy with a lemon/garlic mayo for dipping. The heart is only part of it. It also depends on size - big mondo ones can be stuffed and make an entire meal themselves. Little baby ones I tend to trim the outer leaves and just toss them in a skillet with the pasta sauce.

[es1967]

Sorry, they are fresh. how do I prepare them?

[Chamomile Girl]

Mmmmm lucky you, how big are they? I usually boil mine whole until you can stick a fork into the part where the stem meets the base (that is where the heart is). Then you peel each leaf off and scrape the "meat" at the bottom off with your teeth. Some folks dip the bottoms of the leaves into mayo, butter or oil and vinegar first (my family is a mayo family). When the leaves get too small to bother with anymore just tear the rest of the leaves off of the top, exposing the "choke" or the hairy-looking heart. Carefully scrape all the fuzz off exposing the heart (which is the best part...the heart not the fuzz). Eat the heart. Yummmmmmm

[es1967]

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl

Mmmmm lucky you, how big are they? I usually boil mine whole until you can stick a fork into the part where the stem meets the base (that is where the heart is). Then you peel each leaf off and scrape the "meat" at the bottom off with your teeth. Some folks dip the bottoms of the leaves into mayo, butter or oil and vinegar first (my family is a mayo family). When the leaves get too small to bother with anymore just tear the rest of the leaves off of the top, exposing the "choke" or the hairy-looking heart. Carefully scrape all the fuzz off exposing the heart (which is the best part...the heart not the fuzz). Eat the heart. Yummmmmmm

awesome, thanks
They are the size of a grapefruit-I'd say med size

[cristeen]

Yeah - how big? The big ones (size of a softball or so) I usually cut in half before steaming, or else they take a LONG time to cook. Smaller ones (baseball) I steam whole. Tiny ones (ping pong ball?) I trim the outer leaves, quarter and just add them to pasta sauce raw - they cook in about 15 minutes.

I don't boil them, I prefer to steam them - every time I've tried boiling them they come out water logged. Trim off the top of the choke (maybe an inch), so they have flat tops, trim off the bottom of the stem (where it's black). Stand them on their heads in a steamer basket over some lemon water and steam until you can tug gently at a leaf and have it come away in your hand. The base (heart) where it meets the stem should be fork tender at that point. With a BIG choke, expect it to take about 45 minutes (cut in half - if you leave it whole it'll take over an hour). Smaller ones'll take about 30-45. Oh - important tip... according to Alton Brown, you're not supposed to put a lid on artichokes while they're cooking... I do when I steam them (or it'd take forever), but when you boil them you have to weigh them down (they float) and leave the lid off.

Pull off the outer layer of leaves and toss them - they're usually really tough. Then pull, dip and scrape. When the leaves start getting really flimsy, I don't toss them, I pull them in bunches - at that point you can bite off most of the bottom of them, they're tender enough. Don't eat the hairy "choke" portion in the bowl of the heart - just take a spoon and scrape it out. Trim the outer portion of the stem - you just want to take off hte outer dk green layer - it tends to bitterness. Then the whole heart and stem can be eaten as is.

I was raised in a mayo family, too - mayo mixed with lemon juice and some garlic. But I also really love this spicy sesame asian dip I discovered a few years ago...

½ cup Mayo
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 ½ tablespoons Sesame Oil
½ tablespoon Chili Sesame Oil
2 tablespoons Honey
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
½ teaspoon Salt & Pepper

Mix it all together and serve as a dip with artichokes.

But, if they're the bitty little artichokes, then I trim the thick leaves off the outside until I get to the pale green ones, cut them in quarters, pull the choke out and toss them in a pan with butter, white wine, anchovies, capers, olives and let them cook about 10 minutes and toss it with pasta.

[es1967]

thanks cristeen i just cut them in half. Hopefully, I can wait that long for dinner. They are hard to cut-guess my knives are not the best. I cut the tops off but not the leaves? Is that ok?

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by es1967

thanks cristeen i just cut them in half. Hopefully, I can wait that long for dinner. They are hard to cut-guess my knives are not the best. I cut the tops off but not the leaves? Is that ok?

Exactly. The leaves are what you eat (along with the heart). But cutting the tops off eliminates most of the spines and lets them stand up easier.

And don't blame your knives - even my sharp ones have trouble with artichokes. They're a very difficult veggie to cut.

[es1967]

They turned out really good. I was lazy and just dipped the artichoke in balsamic vinegar and oil which was okay. I'm not really into mayo so I'll have to find another sauce to dip in. I have 2 more to make in the next few days.