It finally feels like spring and artichokes are here! I admit, artichokes used to scare me. Until a couple of years ago I’d had the frozen kind and the kind that came in a jar, but never the real thing. Then one day Jessica and I decided to buy some and learned how to boil them online. We were instantly converted to fresh artichoke people (while wondering who first figured out that there was a delicious heart hiding among the spiky leaves?!), but I’ve moved on to baking and roasting rather than steaming them these days.
Sometimes I simply sprinkle with salt, olive oil and a few squeezes of lemon and wrap the individual artichokes in foil, but this time I roasted a couple of them in a pot, and I think they turned out to be the best artichokes I’ve ever made! They’re not exactly a meal, but they make a great Spring Sunday afternoon snack!
Roasted Artichokes, serves 2, unless you want to share
Ingredients:
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 small shallot, minced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 globe artichokes
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Whisk all ingredients (except for the artichokes) together. Set aside.
- Prepare artichokes: pull off the tough bottom leaves, trim the leaf tips with scissors, cut off the top inch and discard. Cut off the stem and peel (the stem is delicious!). Pull apart the leaves a bit and stand the artichokes up in a roasting dish. Throw the stems in there, too.
- Pour the mixture over the artichokes, cover and bake for 30-45 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and roast for another 10-15 minutes.
Note: While cooking, make sure it’s wet enough. Depending on your method of covering the pot, some moisture may escape. Add more oil/lemon juice/even water if necessary. Mine looks burnt, but the pot just got sticky. It cleaned up really easily. Probably because I covered my Le Creuset loosely with aluminum foil. Originally I put the cover on, but I realized the high heat + knob was a bad idea, and carefully put a layer of foil instead (I couldn’t make it tight enough without burning myself!). Maybe I need to switch to the metal knob?
