Mmm...fresh artichoke

I read this post over at the Nashville Scene's Bites blog with quite a bit of interest. Back when the SO and I visited Seattle, we ordered an artichoke appetizer for dinner one night. It was my first ever whole artichoke and I didn't have the faintest idea of what to do with it. I know I ate as much of the leaves as I could, but I don't recall ever making it to the heart. What a tragedy.

So when I saw some fresh artichokes at Trader Joe's (like another reader did), I picked them up and brought them home. After a little research, I settled on this method of cooking and popped two of them in for a simmered bath in water, lemon juice, sea salt and a touch of olive oil. They stayed in for about 40 minutes--to the point where a leaf came off easily with tongs.

The link describes how to eat the artichoke as well as how to cook one, which is extremely helpful. Though my bottom teeth look like a busted piano due to an aversion to wearing my retainers as a teenager, so I had to tear each leaf in half to get all the "meat" off it.

The flavor of lemon and salt (and olive oil) was really good on its own, but I made a couple of dips to accompany the artichoke. The first was a little mayonnaise (note to self: get some Vegenaise) mixed with a bit of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and a sprinkle of sea salt. The second--which I really, really liked--was a bit of mayonnaise mixed with lemon juice and pesto. I've got some concentrated pesto in a tube and it was perfect for this dip.

The raves for the fresh artichoke are certainly deserved. Delicious! Though next time, I'll just prepare one artichoke for the two of us. One per person is a bit much; not in that too much of a good thing way, but in that up at 3am with intestinal distress way. Though I think I may have consumed a little too much of the woody bits, which would have exaggerated this effect. So if you see some fresh artichokes for sale, don't be intimidated. They're extremely easy to prepare and a lot of fun to eat.