This thorny, green, fascinating vegetable is one of the oldest known foods. Often intimidating, many people just don’t buy them because they simply don’t know what to do with them once they bring them home! A little prep work only takes about 5 min. and these delicious, fibrous vegetable make a great snack, appetizer, or side dish!

 I have often boiled artichoke, but never grilled it until this past January. My husband I were on a trip in Scottsdale and an old college pal of mine recommended we eat at a restaurant called Bandera while we were there. She said it was a must – the food was that good! So we did and she was right. The food was FABULOUS! On the appetizer list was the ‘Jumbo Grilled Artichoke’.  It was so delicious I had to figure out how to make it at home.

This recipe is courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis. Tweaked it a bit.  Also, it calls for 6 large artichokes…I only made four and saved the rest of the dressing to use on salads!

I’d like to introduce you to the main ingredients that will be accompanying the ‘choke.

Ingredients:

• 2 lemons, halved
• 6 large artichokes
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. crushed garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
• 1/2 cup extra -virgin olive oil

*NOTE-I substituted 1 1/2 tsp. of lemon pepper for the salt and pepper…very delicious!

Lets begin. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Have a bowl of cold water with the juice of the halved lemons set aside.  As you prep each ‘choke stick it in the lemon bath to keep from turning brown.

Step ONE is to prep the ‘choke. Cut the stem leaving about one inch…like this…

Step TWO is to cut off the top one inch of the ‘choke…so the top will look like this…isn’t it pretty! Look at all those wonderful layers…mmmm.

Step THREE is to trim the sharp tips from each stem…like this…

Step FOUR is to turn them upside down and slice in half, should look like this when done…

Step FIVE is to scoop/remove any of the purply prickly leaves from the very center, along with some of the little fuzzy stuff. Should look like this when finished…

as you finish each half immediately drop them into the lemon water. Once all the ‘chokes are cleaned, and trimmed drop them into the boiling water for about 20 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water and set on rack to cool. You can even do these up to one day in advance and store them in a container, covered in the fridge until ready to grill.

Making the marinade:

Whisk 1/3 cup lemon juice, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper (or lemon pepper!) in a bowl…gradually whisk in the oil…should look like this…

Remember…this makes enough for SIX big ‘chokes. If you are only doing a few save HALF of the marinade for salad dressing, meat or even dipping your artichoke in.

Brush the artichokes with the dressing. You can either grill them immediately or stick them back in the fridge for a couple hours until ready to cook. I grilled them on a medium high gas grill for about 5 minutes on each side…enough to get some grill marks! Platter up and drizzle a little more dressing on them or serve as is. Pop a petal off and clench it between your teeth so you can scrape the ‘meat’ off with your teeth.

Also be sure to enjoy the heart of the artichoke…all the goodness right at the base of the pedals just above the stem…deee-lish!

And here is what they look like if you want to serve them as appetizers, I quartered them for smaller portions.

Did you know that according to the USDA, one cooked artichoke provides approx. 10.3 grams of fiber!

I also found this website called All About Artichokes, it has everything you wanted to know and more about the beloved artichoke! Have FUN.

Click here for the printable recipe and instructions.

Enjoy,

Shelley