I am reminded of joining a family of friends for Easter dinner and seeing how they prepared a large pile of artichokes this way- stripping them of all the outer petals! I was stunned, actually, by the wealth of waste. LOL- I got over it. Let there be artichokes! I had chokes cooked this way, at a restaurant, as part of a grilled vegetable entree- hit with a bit of steak seasoning and char, they were fabulous. I highly suggest this option!
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Steamed Artichokes
It’s only taken me 18 years to get a recipe for steamed artichokes up here and that’s just… a lot.
In fact, artichokes are such a basic, fundamental pleasure, I’d bet you’ve probably assumed there was one up here already. There wasn’t. Maybe it’s because it’s not really a “recipe” in the traditional sense, in that there’s no specific method, just a suggestion for how to make them, which is to steam them.
We’ve been steaming them this way in our house since before my kids were born, and they remain one of their favorite special occasion treats and ours. A perfect spring or summer dinner, or appetizer for any time of year.
A few details below:
Steamed Artichokes
Yields 2 to 4 servings
- 2 medium-large artichokes
- 2 to 3 lemon wedges or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Optional for serving: melted butter, mayonnaise, aioli, hollandaise sauce
Directions
- Fill a large pot with 1-inch of water and a steamer insert. You want enough water to last 30 to 45 minutes but not enough to touch the bottom of your steamer basket. Bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Wash artichokes and trim them: You can peel the bottom stem, but this isn’t always necessary. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut 1/2-inch off the top of the artichoke and kitchen shears to snip the prickly ends off all of the outer leaves. You can rub the cut edges with a lemon wedge to prevent them from browning, but this is for aesthetics only; I rarely do it. Slice the artichoke in half, top to bottom. Use a spoon to scrape out the fuzzy, inedible choke. I find a melon baller or grapefruit spoon excellent for this. You want to scoop it all out, plus the prickly inner leaves at its base.
- Rub the cut sides of the artichokes with a lemon wedge (if using, this isn’t for aesthetics here but for flavor) and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, place the artichokes in the steamer basket, cut-side up. Cover the pot tightly with a lid. Steam for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the bottom of the artichoke is tender when pierced with a knife and an outer leaf pulls off easily. If your pot boils dry (this isn’t common), you can add more boiling water to the pot.
- Serve immediately with melted butter, mayonnaise, aioli, or hollandaise sauce. We also love eating them with just a little lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Do ahead: Artichokes can be trimmed, cut and stored in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They’re fine to store in water with lemon but I often find this unnecessary. Reheat any leftovers gently.
Do more: Find more recipes for things that you love in my cookbooks, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day, and Smitten Kitchen Keepers.
