Are you an artichoke lover? We grew up with them and still every time the family is over for dinner we remember how we kids fought for hearts.
My mom first encountered artichokes in college in Los Angeles in the late 50s. She was babysitting for a family who left instructions for her on how to cook this strange looking vegetable.
She dutifully followed the instructions to cook them, and then removed the leaves to serve to the kids and threw out the hearts! Thankfully the kid's mom eventually set her straight, and to this day mom still bemoans the loss of those hearts.
Anyway, if you love artichokes, here's a great way to prepare them on the grill. The trick is to steam them first.
Artichokes take a long time to cook, and like moist heat, so it's best to just grill them at the end for the grill marks and smoky flavor.
Cut them in half so the steam penetrates the center more easily and the artichokes cook faster and more evenly.
Steam them instead of boiling them so they don't get too soggy from the water and they stay dry enough to get good browning on the grill. Sprinkle with salt and lemon juice to serve. Yum!
1 Steep herbs in warm olive oil: Place chopped fresh herbs in a small bowl (not the bay leaf), cover with olive oil. Microwave on high heat for 30 seconds (or heat oil and herbs on the stovetop until warm). Let the herbs steep in the warm olive oil while you prepare the artichokes.
2 Prep the artichokes: Prepare a large pot with an inch of water at the bottom. Add the cut cloves of garlic and the bay leaf, and place a steamer rack in the pot.
Use a vegetable peeler to cut away the thick outer layer of the artichoke stems. Trim the stems to 2 inches from the base of the artichoke. Cut off and discard the top 1/2 inch of the artichokes. Cut the artichokes in half.
Use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the fuzzy chokes and the small inner artichoke leaves. Rub lemon juice all over the inside and exposed cut areas of the artichokes.
3 Steam the artichokes: Heat the water in the large pot with a steamer rack on high. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and place the artichoke halves, cut side down on the steam rack.
Cover. Steam for 20 minutes (less or more, depending on the size of the artichokes), until you can easily pull off the outer leaves, and you can pierce the heart easily with a knife.
4 Grill the artichokes: Prepare your grill for direct, high heat. Use a pastry brush to brush the artichoke all over with the herb infused oil. Sprinkle all over with salt.
Place the artichoke halves cut-side-down on the grill grates. Cover, and grill for 5 to 10 minutes, until you have nice grill mark on the cut sides of the artichokes.
To serve, sprinkle the cut sides with more lemon juice. Serve alone or with mayonnaise, remoulade, or aioli.
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My husband just said these were the best artichokes he's ever had! We grew up in CA and we've eaten a LOT of artichokes. I just added lemon juice to the leftover oil and that was all they needed for dipping.
These look wonderful and make me wonder why I've never cooked artichokes! I've use canned ones plenty and love them. What season is best to buy fresh artichokes? What are some tips on finding good ones? Thanks and I love your recipes!
Hi Lisa, most artichokes sold in the US are grown in California near Monterey. There are two seasons, the main one is in the spring, March through June, and there is a smaller season in the fall. What to look for? Petals that are closed, tight to the artichoke. If the petals are open too much, that indicates the artichoke is old. An artichoke is a thistle, surrounded by petals that look like leaves. Think of a rose blossoming, you want the "bud" not the open flower in this case. Fresh artichokes can sometimes "squeak" when you handle them, that's a good sign. Also, if you see what looks like signs of frost, black spots or silver spots, those artichokes are especially good. They'll even sell them at a premium as "frost kissed". See How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke for more info.
I wanted this to work so bad. I am a chef and I steamed and grilled and then steamed again. Still really hard. Like inedible and the leaves were super charred at that point. I am going to try again, because this should have worked!
Hi Amy, it could be that you are working with some tough artichokes. They get tougher as they get older. Right now is not the season for artichokes, so that might be an issue as well. You really need to steam them until they are cooked through and tender. Grilling is not going to make them tender. Grilling is just going to add flavor. So, if you still can't easily pull off an outer leaf or pierce the heart with a fork after you've steamed the, you just need to steam them longer before grilling.
I agree Elise. They need to be cooked through (the leaves should pull off easily) bigger artichokes require more steaming. Baby artichokes are easier to steam (20 min) and grill than the bigger Globe artichokes. I grow these in my garden and enjoy them throughout the summer months. I live in the Palm Springs, Ca area.
I'm trying these tonight-dumb question though….do you eat the whole thing? I feel ridiculous asking, but I don't know. It's why I have never tried cooking artichokes at home before…..
These are perfection! We made two last night with a little bit of balsamic reduction drizzled over. I just finished the last half for dinner this evening. You know what? They are just as good cold! Thanks for the tip to shave the stem. In all of my years of preparing 'chokes, I'd never done that. Duh!
These are awesome…anybody who's been to the south of Italy knows these are pretty much street food. I love grilled vegetables…for an interesting twist try grilled zucchini's with a touch of organic maple syrup…simply amazing!
Wow..love artichoke, just didn't know how to prepare them. Thanks a mil. Would love a great spinach and artichoke recipe.
We just tried this for the first time last week and found that an smallish ice cream scoop worked great for taking out the fuzz.
Your brother and I made these last night and they were delicious! The only issue we had was that they caught on fire on the grill. I'm going with user error on this one and next time we'll turn down the heat! A little char broiled on the edges wasn't the best presentations, but they sure tasted good. Cheers!
The halved, grilled treatment seems to be mostly a restaurant preparation–I usually cannot wait that long! However, I've been cooking artichokes for more than 40 years and don't work on the chokes till the bud's been steamed. Much easier to remove the stuff you don't want to choke on. Also, I've had much success when I salt the water, then add one peppercorn and one whole clove to the water for each bud.
I just grilled artichokes for the first time a few weeks ago when my sister was visiting. She'd grilled them a week before and wanted to share. Definitely tasty! One trick she taught me was to use a grapefruit spoon for scraping out the chokes and fuzzy insides. We also added some salt and pepper to the cooking water, which I'd not done before. I usually simmer them with a clove of garlic and rest of the lemon half I used to rub the cut edges.
I've never tried them grilled. They look amazing! My favorite way of eating them still is Julia Child's way – cook in acidulated water and serve with a very lemony hollandaise. One of my favorite childhood dishes!
There is a restaurant in the mountain village of Idylewild in the San Bernardino mountains, here in So. Cal that serves grilled artichokes basted with an herb olive oil. I've tried the same on the grill using a dried Italian herb mixture in the oil. Don't forget the sea salt to finish. No dipping needed. Delish.