Vegetables - Alan's Cookbook

Steamed artichokes
The classic way of preparing artichokes is wonderfully easy.
Artichokes
Butter
Aioli
Olive oil
Optional
Artichokes are available year round in better
groceries. I find this very charming, in spite of my
admiration for seasonal cooking.
When selecting artichokes, one with a longer
stem is preferred, all else being equal. Also, the
more splayed the outer leaves, the more mature
the choke. This actually isn’t good. You want big
and immature. Really mature chokes are good for
dried flower arrangements. This is a thistle, after
all.
Peel the rough stuff off the stems with a
vegetable peeler. Trim off the dried up stem end.
Slice across the top to get a nice flat surface.
Wash the chokes.
Place chokes in a large pot, top down. Add about
an inch of water. Cover tightly and steam them
until a meat fork stuck into the base of them goes
in easily, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and
serve.
Sucking the leaves is fun, but the best part is the
heart and stem. You can also eat just the leaves,
and reserve the heart and stem for a salad the
next day (e.g. page 53).
Dip each leaf in aioli or melted butter as you eat
it. A great olive oil or good mayonnaise is also
delicious.
Serves 1 per choke
Cooking time: 30 minutes
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