I’ve heard so many people mention how they love artichokes on here.  I’ve never had one and so O bought one on Saturday.  Now What?  Anyone care to share they’re favorite recipes?

well, I googled for you ...

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000262how_to_cook_and_eat_an_artichoke.php

the link has some pretty good pictures ...

my parents always tried to convince us that the heart was edible because of all the fuzzy stuff ... I think we fell for it one time, until we saw them eating it after all the kids had left the dining table! LOL! 

I like a grilled artichoke, and I’ve had some wonderful ones at restaurants in this area, but since I haven’t mastered it for myself, I can’t tell you how to do it.

Bon Appetite!

Ada

OK, I’ll try to explain this, but I don’t necessarily make sense when giving cooking directions, so bear with me.

First, you must rinse it. Run a sink full of water, flip the thing over in it and swirl and sping the thing around, bounce it too, you’re trying to get all the dirt out from the leaves.

Cut off the stem at the base of the artichoke, and peel the outside hard part off until you are at the flimsy white middle (you have to cut off about 1/4 inch off the end of the stem that was exposed to the air)—set it aside for later (the white part)

Now snip off the pointy ends that hurt (only because they hurt), I like my kitchen scissors for this. I also like to cut the top off the artichoke to make it flat.

Put the artichoke in a pot upside down and weight it down (a heavy rock that you’ve run through the dishwasher works here, or anything heavy that can take some heat) Toss in the stem and boil until you can easily slide a knife into the spot where you cut off the stem.

Drain it, peel the leaves and dip in a sauce, salsa, or nothing (I like a little butter with garlic and parsley) and scrape the meaty part of the leaf off with your teeth. It’s the part that was attached to the plant.

when you get to the heart, or the fuzzy part, cut it off. I like to cut it in half and use a grapefruit spoon to shave the thing. Enjoy!

Bree

I always wondered how to cook a fresh artichoke! I usually buy them canned because I could never figure out how precisely to make the fresh ones into something ediable (maybe I thought it was like fugu--deadly except in the hands of a highly trained professional). Love the canned ones on a cold little nibblies tray like you get in a real italian resteraunt, with marinated veggies and good olives and cheese and sun dried tomatoes and roasted peppers and eggplant. Yummy!!!!! I like to eat one as a light summer meal in very hot weather.

Also I love the title of this thread. “I have the artichoke, now what?” strikes me as a perfectly delightful question.

This may be an odd question, but what does an artichoke taste like? Is is kind of like any other foods? I’ve never had one, but I’m curious if I’d like it.

It’s a veggie with a distinct flavor, kind of like spinach.

By which I mean, it has a distinct flavor like spinach does, not “It tastes like spinach”, although like spinach you often find it in cheesy dips and stuff. I tend to think of it as a savory veggie. It pairs well with meats--artichokes go well with chicken. Canned artichokes taste a bit different than fresh, from the sort of brine they’re preserved in. Jeez, I’m really drawing a blank on how to describe it--I tend to compare other foods to artichokes, not the other way around. I think palm hearts taste kind of like artichokes.

They’re worth trying if you’ve never really had one. I don’t know anyone who’s tried them who didn’t like them.

Just if you get a prepared fresh one, don’t eat the fuzzy stuff. Artichokes are a kind of thistle, so they have thistle fuzz on them. It’s ediable, I mean, it won’t kill you, but it’s YUCK.

Thanks ahutch, I’ll have to try one sometime. 

Ada, that is a super web link for how to cook and eat an artichoke!  I was in a restaurant last week and I watched a
family actually scrape the edible part of the leaves with a knife and transfer that to a fork. never have I heard of trying
to eat an artichoke with a fork and knife. LOL

For grilled artichokes, I cut the choke in half lengthwise. marinade for about an hour in lemon juice, alittle white wine, about
6 cloves crushed garlic and a bit of olive oil. have your grill med hot and place on. Cooking time is about 40 minutes.  You can also roast in the oven like this the same length of time.

Stuffed artichokes are yummy. We’ve had them stuffed with a bread stuffing, a rice and walnut raisin stuffing, or a mixture of carrrots, celery and whatever other veggie you have. I put a steamer basket in a large pot, add water, garlic cloves and lemon juice with oil, cover and cook about 40’ checking the water in case you need to add more.

Being italian this was a weekly meal in my house growing up and healthy as usually a veggie meal.