Artichokes are easy to cook and fun to eat, lending a touch of drama to a casual meal. Try serving them with this simple Curry Dip or with a small dish of melted butter.

Cooked artichokes served on oval plates with melted butter and Curry Dip.

Lovely Produce

Last weekend I got a phone message from a friend. She wanted to tell me that she had just seen the most beautiful artichokes at the market. She encouraged me to stop by as soon as possible and bring some home. Of course I went right away. I just love lovely produce!

The artichokes at the market were really pretty. They were huge and had long stems and leaves still attached. I picked up a few and began to look forward to dinner. Artichokes make a great focal point for a casual meal and, since it had been a while since I’d cooked them, their novelty appealed to my sense of culinary drama.

It has now been years since I first cooked an artichoke but they still strike me as fresh and different. I was nearly thirty before I even tasted a fresh artichoke and I guess the newness hasn’t worn off. Growing up in the southeast I don’t remember even seeing one.

Discovering Artichokes

It’s probably just as well. If we had eaten artichokes back then I think we would have cooked them to death and maybe even put them in a cream sauce. Most exotic green vegetables ended up that way at our family table. As a result I spent my early adulthood becoming newly acquainted with the beautiful vibrancy of broccoli and asparagus, steamed until crisp tender. I have also rehabilitated my relationship with fresh greens which I now enjoy gently wilted. So artichokes came into my life at a good time, just when I was ready to accept and enjoy their unique and defining attributes.

Once my sister-in-law moved to California I suppose the introduction became inevitable. It was only a matter of time until artichokes were on the menu during one of our visits. I went to the market with my sister-in-law and when she chose several fresh artichokes and put them in her basket I was intrigued. When we got them home I watched carefully and helped her prepare them. I was amazed at how simple it could be and how fun they were to eat. Won over by that introduction I have cooked them the same way ever since.

How to Eat an Artichoke

By the way, those artichokes I picked up at the market were delicious! Here’s how I prepared them:

A cooked artichoke on a plate beside one leaf being dipped in a curry dip.

Pull the outer leaves from the artichoke, one by one. As you pull them off, dip each one in the sauce and pull the lower end, cupped side down, between your teeth to scrape the flesh away from the outer leaf. Discard the remains. Continue until you reach the inner leaves with little flesh remaining. Then remove the rest of the leaves and discard them.

An artichoke heart being peeled with a whole artichoke in the background.

Beneath the small inner leaves you will see a ring of hair-like fibers. This is the choke. Use a spoon or a table knife to scrape these off of the soft fleshy layer beneath. Discard the choke.

An artichoke heart served with a simple Curry Dip. A whole cooked artichoke is in the background.

What remains is the artichoke heart. Depending on the size of the artichoke it may be relatively thin or rather substantial. Cut or break this into bite sized pieces. Dip pieces in the curry sauce and enjoy!