Artichokes were on sale this week at the grocery store, so I figured I would try cooking them for the first time. I love spinach artichoke dip, so I’ve had artichokes before, but never fresh–only canned. Artichokes are super pretty, with their purple accents and repeating petals. But, surprise! They are prickly and tough, with a soft ‘heart’ in the center. Roasting them makes the inner petals soft and edible. Whoever figured out that these things were edible?
The roasted artichokes tasted surprisingly great with the garlic, lemon, and parmesan flavors cooked into them. But honestly, I felt like there was a lot of work to eat the things for only a little bit of food. It’s like lobster for me – I don’t see what all the fuss is, when you do a lot of work for the little bits of meat and just dab the whole thing in butter, anyway. If I wanted to eat melted butter (but really, I wouldn’t), I could do it without all that work! So in the end, I’m glad I tried making and eating fresh artichokes, but I think I’ll stick to can in the future, and just add it to my dip!
Roasted Artichoke with Lemon and Garlic
Eating a roasted artichoke with lemon and garlic is a bit like eating lobster–a lot of work for that goodness inside!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 2 artichokes
- 4 garlic cloves
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425*F.
- Cut off the top third of the artichoke with a sharp knife.
- Use kitchen shears to cut the sharp ‘thorns’ off of all the other artichoke petals.
- Hollow out the center of the artichoke using a paring knife.
- Use your hands to fan out the artichoke leaves. Rinse the artichokes.
- Place artichokes in a shallow baking dish.
- Score the garlic cloves with the paring knife, making small diagonal cuts in each. Place 2 cloves in the center of each artichoke.
- Drizzle lemon juice from half a lemon over the artichoke halves and follow with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Season with salt and pepper and then sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- The cover baking dish with foil.
- Roast for 50-70 minutes until tender.
- Serve immediately.
