Sauteed Baby Artichokes

The trick question on a first grade progress check written assessment read “how many letters do the fewest number of children have in their names?”  And then you refer to the chart on the right and answer “2” because the column with 2 letters in the first name had 2 X’s (vs “1” which had 0 X’s (for 1 letter in the first name)).  As Mrs. Anderson tried to make Elizabeth feel better about her incorrect choice, she stated “I don’t know of any names with just 1 letter.”  For some reason, David and I felt the need to sound smarter than a first grader so we piped in “my dad’s first name is R but he goes by his middle name” and “I work with a guy named J”.  That’s smart – contradict the person who is in charge of your child’s education.  

Jolie sent this recipe the other day.  She teased me with “I’m making this tonight and it’s going fast,” as if I could get to her house before her family devoured it.  We had an artichoke-apalooza – cooking it using the recipe’s method, Jolie’s method and grilled artichoke bottoms from a can (the cheater, short-cut method).  The winner was Jolie’s method, however they looked prettier using the recipe’s method.

Ingredients

Sauteed Baby Artichokes

1.      2 pounds baby artichokes 

2.      Bowl of water with 3 cups of water and juice from 2 fresh lemons (about 3 T) or equivalent amount of vinegar

3.      1 cup of water

1.      1/2 cup olive oil

2.      1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3.      3 cloves garlic, minced

4.      1 T lemon juice

5.      1/2 teaspoon salt

6.      Dash pepper

7.      Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 to 1/2 cup to taste)

Jolie’s cooking method

Rinse the baby artichokes. Place the artichokes in a steamer and cook for 15-20 to soften.  Remove from steamer basket and allow to cool.  Working on the artichokes one by one, cut off the stem to 1/4-inch from the base; peel back and remove the petals until only the top third of the cone tip is pale green green (I felt like I was wasting a lot of the artichoke but you are removing the tough, non-chewable outer leaves). Cut off the pale green tips. Trim off any remaining green from base of artichoke. Halve or quarter the artichokes, depending on their size and drop in the bowl of acidified water (to prevent discoloration).

In a skillet, heat to medium high and add the olive oil. Add the artichokes, onions, and garlic. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle on 1 T lemon juice, salt and pepper. Put in serving bowl, sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Recipe’s cooking method

Rinse the baby artichokes. Set out a bowl with 3 cups of ice-cold water; add the fresh squeezed juice from 2 lemons (about 3 T of lemon juice) or vinegar. Working on the artichokes one by one, cut off the stem to 1/4-inch from the base; peel back and remove the petals until only the top third of the cone tip is pale green green.  Cut off the pale green tips. Trim off any remaining green from base of artichoke. Halve or quarter the artichokes, depending on their size and drop in the bowl of acidified water (to prevent discoloration).

Drain artichokes. In a large skillet, heat the artichokes and 1 cup of water to boiling. Cover and simmer 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of the artichokes. Drain well.

Using the same skillet, heat to medium high and add the olive oil.  Add the artichokes, onions, and garlic.  Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle on 1 T lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Put in serving bowl, sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.