I'm not sure how many cooks in blogland would be interested in making this dish. It's one I make two or three times a year at the end of artichoke season, which lasts about a month -- May/June, where we are. It's the perfect buttery way to use those
The prep takes about 45 minutes. But if you have the time -- and the eeny little artichokes -- it is a dish that, in its simplicity, is absolute perfection.
BUTTER-STEAMED ARTICHOKE HEARTS
Next, pull off tough outer leaves of small artichokes. Keep going until you've reached the center, where the leaves are soft and pliable.
With sharp knife, cut off top half of artichoke and discard. Trim off stems, and cut each artichoke into quarters, lengthwise.
At this point, pull out your glasses as you will need them to see the eeny little chokes in the eeny little vegetables.
Use your eeny little paring knife to pare out the fuzzy little center choke part.
Repeat for 45 minutes, at which time you should have a small bowl of hearts and a large sinkful of refuse.
This concludes the time-consuming portion of our program; the rest is a matter of melting 2 T. butter over medium-high heat in a 10-inch skillet that has a lid. As butter is just starting to brown,
add the hearts,
pour in 1/2 c. water, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If water evaporates before the time is up, add a bit more so you don't fry the bottom of your pan. When done, the base of the hearts should be tender when poked with a fork. Season with sea salt and pop into your mouth. Mmmm mmmm good.
The recipe is from this book, by the way, which instructs that you can use frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, if you don't have fresh. I have never tried that, though.
eeny little artichokes that signal the end of the harvest --
The prep takes about 45 minutes. But if you have the time -- and the eeny little artichokes -- it is a dish that, in its simplicity, is absolute perfection.
BUTTER-STEAMED ARTICHOKE HEARTS
Set aside any larger artichokes you're planning to eat in the traditional manner.
Next, pull off tough outer leaves of small artichokes. Keep going until you've reached the center, where the leaves are soft and pliable.
With sharp knife, cut off top half of artichoke and discard. Trim off stems, and cut each artichoke into quarters, lengthwise.
At this point, pull out your glasses as you will need them to see the eeny little chokes in the eeny little vegetables.
Use your eeny little paring knife to pare out the fuzzy little center choke part.
Repeat for 45 minutes, at which time you should have a small bowl of hearts and a large sinkful of refuse.
This concludes the time-consuming portion of our program; the rest is a matter of melting 2 T. butter over medium-high heat in a 10-inch skillet that has a lid. As butter is just starting to brown,
add the hearts,
pour in 1/2 c. water, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If water evaporates before the time is up, add a bit more so you don't fry the bottom of your pan. When done, the base of the hearts should be tender when poked with a fork. Season with sea salt and pop into your mouth. Mmmm mmmm good.
The recipe is from this book, by the way, which instructs that you can use frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, if you don't have fresh. I have never tried that, though.
Any other artichoke heart fans out there? Do you have a favorite way of serving them?
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