Every THING Green
Do you feel it? There is a cool breeze blowing in.
I smell Spring in the air.
What’s that saying? March roars in like a lion and slips out like a lamb. This time of year signals new beginnings.
For farmers, this is seeds in the ground time followed by the first harvests. March to me is every THING green from Saint Paddy’s day to fresh green veggies.
A favorite veggie of mine is the artichoke.
Planting begins at this time of year if you are starting with seeds. You need 8 to 10 weeks to grow the seedlings before you plant them in your garden. This is probably why National Artichoke Day comes right in the middle of March.
There’s a process of soaking the seeds and then placing them into trays or pots. The next part is easy, you let these sit in the sun and keep the soil moist until the seedlings let you know it’s time to transfer.
Every THING Artichokes
Artichokes are so popular that there is a festival devoted to them. It’s on my bucket list! https://artichokefestival.org/
Now if your black thumb is getting triggered by the just the thought of the process of planting your own artichoke garden, you can be like me and get into the car for a quick trip to the grocery store.
There you will find glorious artichokes harvested from all over the world. Choose a couple and bring them home.
After that… the process is simple.
Trim the artichoke and boil or steam until tender.
Then it’s all about luxuriating in the slow enjoyment of tearing leaf by leaf and dipping in the sauce of your choosing.
This is one of the few foods that takes you longer to consume than it does to prepare. My kind of dish!
On the other end of the spectrum, baby artichokes come with much less work. These are harder to find.
One great source I found is Goldbelly.com
These little treasures can be served in sauces or battered and fried like onion rings….So much FUN!
Check out my favorite THINGS to do with artichokes.
Artichokes With Lemon Balsamic Dipping Sauce
Learn how to make artichoke dishes in my new cookbook series, You Can Cook Any THING (Volume 2 coming this Spring)!
Servings
Serves 4
Time To Prepare
45 minutes ‘til it’s ready
Ingredients
- 4 large artichokes
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon white Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
Directions
Trim the first artichoke by first pulling off the thick, dark green outer leaves, leaving the tender green leaves in place. You’ll lose about half of the leaves. Use a vegetable peeler to trim the stem and remove the tough partial leaves from the bottom of the artichoke. Cut off the tough end of the stem, leaving about 3 to 4 inches of freshly peeled, tender stem. Cut off the top third of the remaining artichoke leaves and discard. With every cut or peel that you make, rub lemon over the cut ends. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.
Place the artichokes into a large pot. Cover with water and toss in any lemons you have remaining from the cold water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the artichokes until the tines of a fork inserted into the stem of the artichoke pierce easily, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Stir together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, and fresh dill. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer an artichoke to a plate. Spoon some of the sauce onto the plate. Dredge the leaves of the artichoke into the sauce and through your teeth! When you are down to the most tender leaves, use a knife to separate the thorny choke from the artichoke bottom. Discard the spiky inner leaves and choke and cut the “heart into pieces”.
Make it Your Way:
Take these artichokes to the next level by grilling them and serving with a spicy sauce. Like this: After the artichokes have been steamed, cut them in half and remove the thorny inner leaves. Place them onto a hot grill pan. Drizzle with olive oil and cook for 2 minutes per side. For the sauce, us a blender or food processor to blend ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro and 1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (these are spicy, so you can use a half of a pepper with the seeds removed to start and see how it tastes to you!). Season with salt and pepper. Dip those grilled leaves into this delicious sauce for a real taste treat.
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