. . . with a globe artichoke & fresh garlic, now that sounds like a good night! My very first post a couple of years ago was to highlight fresh artichokes and my recipe for steaming them. It has been a long time since, so I felt the chokes deserved a comeback. Not to mention they are one of my favorite vegetables ever. These leafy spheres are just as healthy as they are delicious. They lend a hearty (pun intended) component to pastas, salads, pizzas, dips, you name it! Though I add them to many meals, I love them best steamed with fresh garlic & lemon. I eat them as a meal sometimes, or as a side with pasta. They go perfectly with a glass of dry rosé or a buttery CA Chardonnay, add my parm garlic butter mix for dipping—taste bud perfection!
I’m going to touch back on the recipe for these since spring & summer are perfect times to buy fresh artichokes. You won’t want to miss out! We know they are are crave-worthy, but they do offer us some benefits aside from butter dipping.
The globe artichoke—Cynara scolymus—is a low calorie, low-fat, vegetable packed with vitamins, and body-boosting benefits. Here’s what our medium-size choke has to offer:
- Good source of fiber (6.5 g), protein (4g), and iron (1.55 mg).
- Good source of magnesium (72 mg), folate (61 µg), and potassium, which all benefit muscle function & heart health.
- Globe artichokes are known for their support of liver health, because they contain an acid compound known as cynarin, which is found within the leaves & promotes liver bile production. In turn, this breaks down fatty foods & is said to lower cholesterol.
- Not only a boost for your liver, artichokes are a known antioxidant and possess: 12 mg of Vitamin C, 3,5 dicaffeoylquinic acid, and 4,5 dicaffeoylquinic acid, which demonstrate anti-inflammatory properties.
- Last, but certainly not least—a medium choke has only 60 calories & less than 1 gram of fat.
Don’t mind if I do! Here’s how we did. . . .
Steamed Artichokes
with garlic, lemon, butter sauce
Perfectly steamed artichoke with garlic, lemon parm butter sauce!
What to get:
- One large artichoke,
- Sea salt & black pepper (to taste),
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 smashed garlic cloves (to put in steaming pot)
- 3 chopped garlic colves (to push in between choke leaves)
- 1 lemon, quartered (2 to squeeze over choke in pot & leave lemon rinds in pot to steam),
- 1/4 cup white wine (pour atop choke during steaming).
- 3 cups water (for steaming)
- 1/2 stick butter (soften to room temperature)
- 1 T parm cheese mix, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves chopped (will use from steaming pot above)
- Squeeze of lemon
What to do:
- Prep artichoke by trimming stem and clipping ends of leaves with kitchen shears.
- Pull back leaves to allow room for stuffing about 2 cloves of chopped garlic, salt & pepper.
- Place artichoke in pot on steamer basket if available.
- Squeeze 2 lemon wedges & the red wine vinegar over choke.
- Steam artichoke on medium, in large pot with lid, with few cups of water, then adding: white wine, lemon rinds from 2 you squeezed, and 2 additional smashed garlic cloves.
- Steam 1-1.5 hours, or until tender and leaves pull-away easily.
- In small bowl, add butter, shredded parm, lemon, and the chopped cloves of the steamed garlic cloves from artichoke pot (they'll be soft and mild).
- mix together.
- To warm butter mix, I place the small butter bowl into idle steaming pot turned off, with lid to melt.
- Otherwise, you can heat butter mix over stove or in microwave briefly.
- Enjoy artichoke leaves warm with melted butter mixture for dipping, and with a lemon wedge.
- Once leaves are eaten, clean leaves and silk off top of heart, and dip into butter mix; it's the best part!
Notes
This is a fail-proof artichoke recipe. I love these a couple of times a week during the summer months when artichokes are in season. The steaming time will vary depending on size of the artichoke. Sometimes they cook as fast as 45 min, but mostly they take over an hour.
The butter dip clenches it, and using the cooked garlic from the steaming pot, we add a subtle flavor that perfectly compliments the lemon & parm. Tonight I had one solo, but other times I like to pair them with fresh bruschetta for a light, Italian meal.
Get to your local farmer’s market for some fresh globe artichokes! Then get these babies into a steaming pot, for a prelude to an amazing dinner! I hope you make these a regular appearance in your kitchen, as I do in mine—Buon Appetito!
I love artichokes. I don’t think a lot of people I know really appreciate this veggie. They are really missing out. Also, your pictures looks gorgeous.
Thank you! I totally agree with you; it is funny how many people don’t eat these often, or aren’t sure who to cook them. They’re pretty easy luckily! I am hooked & glad they are in season again.