Farm Fresh Fridays - Artichokes

For this first post we let our 4 year old son pick our first feature. He picked

Artichokes

He loves them and its always his top pick. Good thing they were on sale and not $2 like the local grocery store has them. That's why WE LOVE LARRY'S

We decided to cook two different artichokes two different ways, grilled and steamed. I will give you both options and they both taste great. Keep reading for the chipotle mayonnaise recipe and tips on how to prepare artichokes. 

Preparation:

Cut off top 1/4 - 1/3 of artichoke. You will start to see the yellow portion of the artichoke. Remove outer leaves of artichoke and cut off stem. To decrease browning from cutting, put artichokes in water mixed with either lemon or vinegar. You can either steam or boil artichokes. The time needed completely depends on the size of artichoke. This time I steamed both artichokes to start. I added lemon to the water as well and sprayed the artichokes with lemon. I cooked them for about 25 minutes then removed one of the artichokes. The other I let cook about 20 minutes more until it was done.

This is where you get to choose which option. You can continue to cook the artichoke in the steamer or remove it and put it on the grill. Before I add it to the grill I combine olive oil, salt, pepper, freshly chopped garlic, garlic powder, and a little water in bowl. Let artichoke rest in marinade for an hour or just a minute, you choose. Throw on the grill and start to grill. The outer leaves will char a bit, that is okay! You want the smokiness of the barbecue to penetrate the entire artichoke. You can pull off one of the outer leaves and check to see if it's ready. It should pull off easy, but to double check time to taste test!

There are many ways to eat artichokes. People like to use straight mayonnaise, butter, or some type of dip. I am not a fan of straight mayonnaise, so I went with butter and a chipotle aioli or chipotle mayonnaise.

Chipotle Mayonnaisse

• 1 Cup Mayonnaise
• squeezed lemon - 1/2 to 1 whole lemon depending on size
• 3 garlic cloves diced and sauteed optional
• 1/4 cup Sour cream
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 3 whole chipotles from can blended with vinegar and water
• Optional - Chili Powder to taste

place all ingredients in a bowl and mix

This is amazing. I would use this on a burger, as a dip, you name it, great stuff. It can be spicy with the whole chipotles, but you can deseed them if you like.

The artichokes turned out amazing either option. They went great with the chipotle mayonnaise and my son loved them with the butter as he said the dip was "spicy." Let us know how your artichokes turn out and don't forget to check out Larry's for the best produce in town!

Artichoke tips and hints

• Artichokes possess good keeping qualities, frequently remaining quite fresh for two weeks or longer under average retail conditions
• Use a stainless steel pot or glass pot to cook artichokes to keep from turning black or dark
• Use an acid, either lemon or vinegar and put artichokes in water with either one until you cook them to keep from browning
• Cooking without the top on will also keep artichokes greener as acids will boil out into the air

Pin It