Artichokes are in the markets now. They can be intimidating for the beginning cook but they are truly easy and quite delicious!
- 2 artichokes
- butter
- lemon
With a sharp kitchen knife, cut off about one inch from the top of the artichoke, removing the sharp tips. Remove the stem close to the base of the artichoke along with the tough bottom leaves. Rub the cut portion of the artichoke with the juice of a fresh lemon to prevent it from browning. Put the artichokes in a pan with a steamer insert and steam, refilling the water as needed, over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes until the leaves are softened and the bottom of the leaves are tender enough to scrape off with your teeth. Once you have finished with the leaves, discard the smaller ones near the center and scrape out the “choke”, the fuzzy part in the center covering the heart. Cut the heart into pieces. Serve with lemon butter sauce or your favorite vinaigrette..
Lemon Butter Sauce
Melt 3-4 tbs butter and combine with 2-3 tbs of fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
Artichokes with Lemon Butter
Ingredients
Artichokes
- 2 artichokes
- butter
- lemon
Lemon Butter Sauce
- 3-4 tbsp butter
- 2-3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Artichokes
-
With a sharp, serrated kitchen knife, cut off about one inch from the top of the artichoke, removing the sharp tips. Remove the stem close to the base of the artichoke along with the tough bottom leaves. Rub the cut portion of the artichoke with a lemon slice to prevent it from browning.
-
Put the artichokes in a pan with a steamer insert and steam, refilling the water as necessary, over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes until the leaves are softened and the bottom of the leaves are tender enough to scrape off with your teeth. This is the part you eat, you don’t chew the whole leaf. Remove and serve with lemon butter sauce.
Lemon Butter Sauce
-
Melt 3-4 tbs butter and combine with 2-3 tbs of fresh squeezed lemon juice.