Braised Artichokes with Garlic

Submitted by Beamer42 on September 19, 2012 - 2:18pm
Braised Artichokes with Garlic

Summary

Yield
SourceLeite's Culinaria
Prep Time1 hour
CategoryVegetables
CuisineAmerican

Description

I was imagining us sitting at the table with a bottle of prosecco, roasted chicken wings, and these artichokes. We’re eating everything with our hands, unabashedly scraping artichoke leaves with our teeth and eyeing the last few cloves of the braised garlic. I haven’t had much success preparing artichokes in any other way besides the old Italian–American standby—stuffed with breadcrumbs and steamed—that is, until I prepared these little babies. This recipe is insanely good and I’m going to make artichokes in this way forevermore. I needed to add water throughout the cooking process. In the end, I added an additional 3/4 cup of water in 1/4-cup intervals when the pot threatened to run dry and scorch. Don’t add the additional water up front, as you’ll never deeply brown your garlic or artichokes and those crispy brown bits are treasures. Add a little salt into the heart cavity with the parsley. I also used baby artichokes, which surprisingly took the same amount of time to cook, yet I didn’t have to scoop out the choke during prep. Enjoy—this recipe is a true crowd-pleaser. I can’t wait to serve these to friends.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon halved
  • 6 medium artichokes - 1/2 lb each
  • 18 flat parsley leaves
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 head garlic cloves separated and unpeeled
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp *olive oil

Instructions

Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze the lemon halves into the bowl.

Working with 1 artichoke at a time, cut off and discard the top inch of the artichoke.

Using your fingertips, gently pull or pry open the leaves to reveal the center of the artichoke.

Using a spoon (or a spoon-like implement such as a melon baller or a pointy-tipped grapefruit spoon), scoop out any sharp leaves and the fuzzy choke from inside the artichoke.

You’re looking, beneath all those pointy tips and fuzz, for what’s called the artichoke heart.

If the stem of the artichoke is still attached, use a knife to trim it.

Place the artichoke in the bowl of lemon water.

Repeat with the remaining artichokes. (The trimmed artichokes can be kept chilled in lemon water for up to 8 hours.)

Remove the artichokes from the water.

Push 3 parsley sprigs into the center of each.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in pot over medium heat until it shimmers, then carefully add the artichokes, garlic, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the black pepper.

Cover the pot and braise the artichokes, turning occasionally, until they’re browned in spots and the base of each artichoke–where the stem meets the leaves–is tender when pierced with a knife, about 35 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the artichokes and garlic to a platter.

Add the remaining 3/4 cup water to the pot and bring to a boil.

Cook over high heat, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, for 1 minute.

Pour the deglazed pan juices (they will be dark) into a small bowl and stir in the extra-virgin olive oil and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Squeeze the pulp from 2 of the garlic cloves into the juices and mash them into the sauce using the tines of a fork.

Divide the artichokes and, if desired, the remaining garlic cloves among 6 plates and drizzle with the sauce.

The garlic cloves can be peeled and spread on crusty bread.


 

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