Don't be intimidated by their hostile exteriors; the treasures the artichokes guard within are worth the effort. Artichokes hold a special place in my childhood “core memories.” My mother loved artichokes, not in the versatile ways in which they should be loved, but in the kind of way where you steam one large globe in your 90’s microwave for an unspecified amount of time and then cover it in butter (as one should). We would stand around the bowl silently plucking each prickly leaf (which is actually called a bract), using our two front teeth to scrape every little bit of meat off it that we could, with utter satisfaction. And that was all. To be honest, we didn't even get to the prized treasure– the soft, sweet, nutty heart. What a waste! And yet we loved it so much, even without knowing we were missing the best part.
But now I'm older and wiser and want to put artichoke hearts in my salad, go to Hillstone and dip chips in what should really be called “cream of artichoke,” roast them, slice thinly to grill briefly, or fry and dip them in more creamy sauce… Or just let the ones in the garden go to flower—because those are stunning too. There are other approaches as well, but deep down, I still just want to steam them and smother them in butter.
An artichoke is a flower, or it would be if it were allowed to bloom. It is a member of the echinulated (spiny) thistle family, whose members include dandelions and sunflowers. If you think about their leaf shapes and stems, that makes sense, kinda sorta, right? At the stage we eat it, before the deep violet blossom emerges, the artichoke is really just a fat, succulent flower bud- ready to be covered in butter (too much about the butter?). By removing all the petals, you come to the inedible hairy “choke,” which, if left to bloom, becomes the gorgeous purple florets. Then you get to the tenderest part, the holy grail - the heart.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Sam Loves The Market to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.