With everyone practicing social distancing during this COVID-19 outbreak, I though I’d share one of my favorite recipes with you guys. This way you can have a delicious restaurant like appetizer in the comfort(and safety) of your own home. So here is my recipe for:
Grilled Artichokes
Ingredients:
- 2 fresh, whole artichokes
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp. minced garlic
- 2 tsp. garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
Rinse your artichokes under cool running water. Using kitchen shears, snip off the pointy, sharp ends of the leaves. Then, using a sharp knife, cut off the top section of your artichoke:
Next chop off the stem of your artichoke, leaving a half inch to an inch behind:
Now cut your artichokes in half like so:
Now it’s time to remove the “choke”- the hair-like, fuzzy center of the artichoke. This isn’t edible so you need to scoop it out. I use a sharp paring knife to make small, shallow cuts underneath the choke. I lift slightly as I make little slits(again, JUST under the fuzzy part).
Next, take a small spoon(if you have a grapefruit spoon those work best), and gently scoop the choke out and discard. Some of the sharp, purple leaves in the center of the artichoke will fall out too- this is fine. When you’re done, it should look like the artichoke on the bottom left of this photo:
Place your artichokes into a large pot and add enough water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, and let them boil gently for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, you can prepare your marinade:
Mix the olive oil, minced garlic, garlic salt, black pepper, and paprika together in a bowl. This is your grilling marinade.
When your artichokes are almost done boiling, preheat your outdoor grill.
Gently remove artichokes from the water. I use tongs to pull them from the water while gently shaking excess water out.
Set them cut-side down on a large plate, or small cookie sheet. Take the marinade you prepared and remove 5 Tablespoons of it and set it aside in a separate bowl. Brush the leftover marinade all over both sides of the artichokes:
Grill over medium, indirect heat, for about 3 to 5 minutes per side. They are already cooked, so you’re just grilling them long enough to get a good char on them for that grilled flavor.
While they are grilling, take the 5 tbsp. of marinade that you set aside, and mix it with the 3/4 cup of mayonnaise. This is the garlic aioli for your artichokes.
Serve your artichokes with a generous dollop of this for dipping! Your finished product should look like the artichoke pictured below:
To eat the artichoke, you start by peeling off the outer petals, then dip each petal in the aioli. Using your front teeth, scrape off the fleshy, edible part of the underside of each petal and eat that part. Then, discard the rest of the petal(usually onto a separate plate). You’ll get more “meat” off of each petal as you get further into the artichoke. When all the petals are gone, you’re left with the artichoke heart- which you can just cut into smaller pieces and eat. No need to discard any of the heart- the whole thing is edible…and it’s the best part!
So there you have it- my Grilled Artichokes. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
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