Tag Archives | easy artichoke

Char Grilled Artichoke Update

By on July 15, 2010 in Grilled, Sides, Spring / Summer, Tailgating, Vegetarian

Okay.  So I needed to post up an update to my previous Char Grilled Artichoke post because I made this dish again the other night.  Man it is a tasty recipe.  I know that a lot of you have been reading that one and enjoying the results which is great.  There are a few updates that I needed to throw down to take it to the next level. 

The first update is in the prep of the choke.  When taking out the fine hairs, I used a grapefruit spoon this time rather than a regular spoon.  So much easier.  Really cut down on the preparation time.  So use that and then follow the prep as previously posted.  Make sure you use the acidulated water and boil the chokes for about ten minutes. 

At this point, I changed the recipe to use lime instead of lemon.  In a big bowl, we tossed the choke halves with salt, pepper, the juice from 1 and 1/2 limes and a three count of olive oil.  Cook them leaf side down on a hot grill and I poured the lime juice mixture left in the bowl onto the cooking chokes.  When they are done, pile them on a platter leaf side down.  To finish them, drizzle some high quality extra-virgin olive oil over the chokes.  It is a small touch that made a big difference.  Wow, these are really good.

I served these chokes up with the Grilled Dry Rubbed Pork Loin.  The chokes went pretty well with this dish, but in the future I would serve them with something else.  Perhaps a pork chop with grilled herbed potatoes or something.  That sounds pretty good to me.  Might have to make that sometime soon.  Anybody interested in dinner?

grilled artichoke

These are lip smackin good. Photo by Scott Groth

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Char Grilled Artichoke

By on May 29, 2010 in Grilled, Sides, Spring / Summer, Vegetarian

Over the years, I have had my fair share of grilled artichokes.  They all kinda taste the same… the only difference being that some are more tender than others.  Well, last night I had an opportunity to learn how to really cook a grilled artichoke the right way.  A buddy of mine from high school was hanging out at our lake house with his wife and one of their friends.  I had some chokes in the fridge and he suggested that we make them for a nice appetizer.  I was cool with it and let him take the lead.  These chokes are tender and really delicious. 

Ingredients

4-6 artichokes, dependent on however many you need
2 lemons
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Ok- the prep work for any artichoke is going to be a bit messy.  Now that you know, prepare for it.  Pull out a trash can or a big bowl to prep the chokes over.  Also, remember that artichokes will turn brown extremely quickly, so you should have a big bowl out filled with cold water and the juice of 1 lemon.  The citric acid will prevent the choke from browning.  Fill a big pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add salt.

To prep the artichoke, cut off the very bottom of the stem.  You will eat the inside of the stem which will be really flavorful.  Try to keep as much of the stem as possible.  Trim some of the smaller lower leaves off the choke.  Cut the artichoke in half from top to bottom.  Now you need to work sorta quickly.  Take a spoon out of the drawer and remove the “hairs” from inside the choke.  Use the spoon to scoop them out, leaving as much of the heart as possible.  I leave the purple leaves in since the bottoms are so tender, but the tops should not be eaten since many of them have thorns on them.  After you have scooped out the inedible portion, put the choke in the lemon acidulated water.

When all of the chokes are clean, put them in the boiling water for about 10 minutes.  While they are boiling, turn on the grill.  It should be to medium heat.

Drain the chokes after 10 minutes of boiling.  Drain the bowl of acidulated water.  Put the chokes into that bowl.  Pour olive oil over the chokes along with some salt and pepper.  Mix them all around.  Put the chokes leaf side down on the grill.  Pour some of the lemon juice into the cavity and on the leaves of each choke.  Add a little salt and pepper.  Cook on this side over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Turn the choke over and cook for another 10 minutes. 

Bring everything into the house on a big platter.  This dish is fun to eat standing up with people around the kitchen island if you have one.  Chow down on all the leaves, then dig into the heart and stem.   It’s just a really good, particularly the parts that have been slightly blackened on the grill. 

This is my new favorite artichoke recipe.  I’m on the hunt now for some long-stemmed artichokes to try this out on as well- should be fantastic.

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