Steamed Artichokes

Recipe Credit


Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients

2 globe artichokes
lemon juice


Instructions

1. Wash artichokes with vegetable brush and water. (Be wary of the leaf thorns.)
2. Trim the leaf tips as illustrated.
   Note: The artichokes may be cut in half (top to bottom) so that they serve 4.
   Remove the choke before cooking if you do this.
3. Rinse the prepared artichokes in lemon juice or other acid such as vinegar.
4. Place the artichokes in a steamer basket in a large pot with 1½ to 2 inches of boiling water.
5. Steam until tender 20 - 40 minutes, depending on the artichokes.
6. Remove from steamer basket with tongs and serve immediately with lemon butter dipping sauce or other sauce.

Hint: Artichokes are actually flower buds. See the next page for tips on how to eat them whole.

How to eat them:
Dip each leaf in sauce or butter then drag the the fleshy part of the leaf across your teeth to scrape it into your mouth. Discard the remainder of the leaf. The choke is the center of the flower — the needly portion of the bud. This inedible portion of the bud is attached to the artichoke heart, which is meaty and succulent. Remove the choke (needles and the needily leaves) with a small tablespoon and discard them, but dip and eat the heart. This is the best part of the artichoke flower bud.