The Easy Way to Cook Artichokes | Healthy Kitchen Hacks

For perfect doneness and less hassle, here’s the Healthy Kitchen Hack on artichokes.

It’s Healthy Kitchen Hacks Wednesday – the day we share our favorite time-saving kitchen tricks and cooking shortcuts to help you make healthy and delicious meals.

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Now…onto today’s featured Healthy Kitchen Hack:

The Easy Way to Cook Artichokes

Have you ever looked at those prickly green globes and been a bit intimidated?

Don’t be. I’ve tried boiling and grilling this spring veggie with marginal success. (With boiling and grilling methods, I found the chokes are easy to over- or under-cook, and difficult to check doneness.)  But when roasted in the oven, even variable-sized artichokes come out perfect.

Bonus: my kids (shockingly) really like them roasted. And I think I know why: the oven makes artichokes a bit sweeter and infuses lemon throughout the choke.

Here’s How to Roast Artichokes:

1. Wash artichokes. Then, using a sharp knife, cut about 1 to 1 1/2-inch off the top of the artichoke. Trim about 1/2-inch off the stem (don’t trim too much of the stem, as it’s an extension of the tasty artichoke heart.)

2. Spread the leaves out wide, to open up the artichoke.

3. Squeeze a half lemon over and in between the leaves of each artichoke. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Slice 1 to 2 cloves of garlic and slide in between as many leaves as possible.

4. Wrap in a large piece of aluminum foil. (It’s OK if it’s not tightly sealed – then the leaves get a bit browned and toasty-looking.)

5. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 1 hour for MEDIUM artichokes, or 1 hour and 15 minutes for LARGE/JUMBO chokes like this one. Check for doneness by pulling out a center leaf and making sure the ‘meat’ part is tender and can be easily scraped off with your teeth.

Now the fun: Making a million different (easy) dipping sauces. Here’s what my kids love dipping:

• Lemon juice + salt. Let kids sprinkle their OWN salt over a puddle of lemon juice.
• Mayo + lemon + curry powder
• Melted butter. (Yes. This dietitian serves melted butter. It increases artichoke consumption!)  Not grilled. Not boiled. The EASY Way to Cook Artichokes #HealthyKitchenHacks via @TspCurry Click To Tweet

Check out this fun video from the California Artichoke Advisory Council showing how to EAT an artichoke.

Roasted Artichokes with Lemon Curry Mayo

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• Author: by Serena Ball, RD
• Yield: 4-8 servings 1x

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Description

The easy way to cook artichokes: Roast for less mess and perfect doneness.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 medium artichokes
• 2–3 lemons, halved, divided
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4–8 cloves garlic, sliced

For the sauce:

• 1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon above)
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

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Instructions

1. Wash artichokes. Then, using a sharp knife, cut about 1 to 1 1/2-inch off the top of the artichoke. Trim about 1/2-inch off the stem (don’t trim too much as the stem is an extension of the tasty artichoke heart.)
2. Spread the leaves out wide to open up the artichoke.
3. Squeeze a half lemon over and in between the leaves of each artichoke. Drizzle each artichoke with 1 tablespoon olive oil. For each artichoke, slide 1-2 garlic cloves, sliced, in between as many leaves as possible.
4. Wrap in a large piece of aluminum foil. (It’s OK if it’s not tightly sealed – then the leaves get a bit browned and toasty-looking.)
5. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 1 hour for MEDIUM artichokes, or 1 hour and 15 minutes for LARGE/JUMBO chokes like this one. Check for doneness by pulling out a center leaf and making sure the bottom is tender and can be easily scraped off with your teeth.

For the sauce:

1. Whisk together all ingredients. Serve with the artichokes

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 to 1 whole artichoke