Veggie Review: Artichoke

I've decided that each time I do the shopping for the week/2 weeks that I'm going to try out a new veggie for us. We usually stick to the normal green beans/corn/carrots/peas and to be honest they are getting old.

This week artichokes were on sale. So, I went for it! I like spinach artichoke dip and artichoke hearts in Italian salads. That is my extent of knowledge on the artichoke.

Did you know that there is an entire website dedicated to the artichoke? Well, there is!www.artichoke.org. I also did a recipe search on All Recipes and Google, and here is what I came up with...

COOKING IT:

I decided to boil it. I wanted to steam it, but we don't have a steaming basket and I didn't feel like getting one. Next time maybe. Anyway, I used about 4 inches of water in a big soup pot. I put a splash of lemon juice, a clove of garlic, and a bay leaf in the water and brought it to a boil. While I was waiting for it to boil I cleaned it by holding it under COLD running water. After that I cut off the top of the artichoke (I just looked to see where it started to "fan" out), then I trimmed the leaves and the stem.

There is an awesome picture tutorial here. I don't have a picture tutorial because I was trying to concentrate and it was nearly impossible with this at your feet.

Anyway, after the water comes to a rolling boil I stood the artichoke up on the stem and let it boil for about 35-40 until the leaves were very soft.

While it was boiling I made the dip.

DIP:

I used 2/3 parts mayonnaise to 1/3 part pesto with a splash of lemon juice. Next time I think I'll add a little salt. It was yummy like this though.

I had this as our side dish for Salmon Pesto Burgers. I found the recipe for the "burgers" here. I think they went well together because both used pesto and the artichoke was a good balance to the salmon.

It was declared a "keeper" and I look forward to making it again. Tonight Rob said he had been thinking about the artichoke "all morning" and wants me to make it again. I think that speaks for itself!

***Next time I promise to take more pictures.***