This is how I usually prepare artichokes for our family. It’s the easiest, most straightforward way to make them. Give me a steamed artichoke and a dish of good-quality mayonnaise (or hollandaise!) and I’m a very happy camper.
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Cut the stem off of the base of the artichoke so the choke sits flat. You can also remove the bottom outer leaves as they can be extremely tough. You can save the stems as we can peel them and bake them as well. Now cut 1/3 from the top of the artichoke and lay it flat.
Cleaning, Steaming and Eating Artichokes
- Artichokes
- Lemons
- Serrated knife, or sharp chefs knife
- Kitchen shears, or sharp, clean scissors
- Vegetable peeler
- Large pot with lid
- Steaming basket
- Melon baller
- Paring knife
- Rinse your artichoke under cold water. Pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. Remove any stray leaves from the stem of the artichoke.
- With kitchen shears, or sharp scissors, remove the thorny tips from the leaves.
- With a sharp chefs knife or serrated knife, cut about an inch off of the top of the artichoke.
- Keep a lemon handy to rub onto the exposed areas so that they do not oxidize and turn brown.
- Remove the bitter, fibrous end of the stem with your knife, leaving about an inch left on the artichoke. Be sure to rub a lemon onto the exposed end of the stem.
- Peel the outer skin from the remaining stem. The stem can has a more bitter taste than the rest of the artichoke and removing the skin helps to take away some of the bitterness. Rub exposed peeled stem with lemon.
- Run the artichoke under cold water, pulling apart the leaves to carefully rinse out the vegetable and remove any impurities. Immediately submerge the prepared artichoke in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice. Keep prepared artichokes in this lemon water till ready to steam.
- When ready to steam, fill the bottom of your pan with a few inches of water. Place a steaming basket in the bottom and the artichokes on top, cover the pan with a lid. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer.
- The artichoke is done steaming when you can easily insert a knife into the stem or heart (bottom) area. Cooking time will vary based on the size of your artichokes. Start with 30 minutes and go from there. I like my artichokes quite tender, but not so soft that they fall apart. This usually takes 1 hour or longer.Once your artichokes are cooked, you can eat them leaf-by-leaf, or go straight to the heart of the veggie, which contains the most edible flesh.
- To eat the artichoke, remove the outer leaves by hand. They will come off very easily. For each leaf, place the edible meaty area at the base of the leaf between your teeth, then scrape off the soft edible flesh. Discard the uneaten leaf. Artichoke leaves taste great dipped in hollandaise, mayonnaise or herb sauce.
- One you get to the center of the artichoke, youll see some very thin spiny leaves and a fuzzy “choke” area with small, tender spines. Pull off the thin leaves and discard. The fuzzy spines of the choke are also inedible, so youll need to remove them with a spoon or melon baller– simply scrape them gently off the heart, they should fall off easily.
- With a paring knife, carefully trim off any tough remaining bits of leaves from the outside edges of the heart.
- Voila! A cleaned artichoke heart. This is truly the most delicious part of the artichoke. Of course, you could just skip eating all of the leaves and go straight to the cooked heart… but wheres the fun in that? I always liked eating the leaves and working my way towards the center of the artichoke; its like earning a prize when you get to the center. Dip it in sauce as you would the leaves, eat and enjoy!
I love vegetables of all types, but if I had to choose my favorite, definitely the artichoke would be up there in the top three. Artichokes are relatives of the thistle, which isn’t surprising when you consider their appearance. The artichoke is native to North Africa and southern Europe and has been cultivated in Italy since Roman times.
Begin at the bottom of the choke, start to pull off the darker, rough leaves with your fingers working your way around the choke and continue to do so until you only have light green leaves showing.
As you clean each artichoke, drop them into your lemon water to prevent discoloration until they are needed.
Once you get your artichokes home from the market you then must clean and prepare them for your chosen recipe which may be a daunting proposition if you have never done it before. Having completed it once however, it will be a snap to do in the future, I promise! Everyone has a personal preference about how much of the artichoke they like to cut and what they leave on for cooking. This is how I would clean my artichokes for braising to be served as a side dish which is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh artichokes. You can find my easy Braised Artichoke Recipe below the step by step photos below.
If you are cleaning baby artichokes you can simply ignore the inner spiky choke as it will be soft. For larger artichokes like I am cleaning in the photos, if I want to keep them whole I will pull apart the leaves to expose the sharp, spiky internal choke.
EASY STUFFED ARTICHOKES Italian Style + HOW TO CLEAN ARTICHOKES PROPERLY
FAQ
How do you clean artichokes before stuffing?
Do artichokes need to be washed before cooking?
Why do you soak artichokes in water?
How do you make artichokes for stuffing?
It’s a fantastic appetizer and an Easter staple in many Italian American homes. Making artichokes for stuffing is much easier than you might think. Fill a large pot or bowl with water and add the juice of a lemon. Slice off the stem and an inch off the top of the artichoke. Use kitchen shears to snip off any thorny tips on the leaves.
How can one use artichoke hearts?
The artichoke heart can be used in recipes stuffed with meats, cheeses or sauces. It can also be used pickled, cooked over coals, as stuffing, in paella and with scrambled eggs.
How to clean artichokes?
Peel the stems, and cut off the tip of the stem. Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard any purple choke. 4. Drop the chokes into a bowl with lemon water. Add some salt to the water. The lemon juice and salt will keep the chokes from turning brown while you are working to clean each one.
How do you stuff artichoke leaves?
Before stuffing the artichoke spread the leaves apart to make space. You can also turn them upside down and flatten them to further spread out the leave. Start by placing the stuffing into the center cavity of the artichoke. Don’t overpack it. Next spread the closest layer of leaves out and sprinkle the breadcrumbs inside.