artichokes with parmesan dipping sauce

How many of you have eaten artichokes. i don't mean the little tiny artichoke hearts in marinade that you get in the canned veg section of the supermarket. but the fresh, green leafy things you get in the produce section? well, i knew what they were, but i have to admit...they were a bit of a mystery to me...until tonight. Tonight i purchased 3 artichokes. Not the huge globe ones...couldn't find those. just the small, plain old artichokes. 3/.99 cents to be exact! so i figured...what's the worst that can happen. i had seen recipes for them, i just hadn't gotten there yet.

before i start, did you know that artichokes are a member of the sunflower family? yup. i didn't know that either. the things you learn in the kitchen....well...online. :p

so, i cut the top 1/2 - 1 inch off the top and cut the stem to be flush with the bottom. i then clipped all the thorns off of the remaining full petals and put them in a small pot of about 1" of water. i added lemon juice, garlic and salt to the water. i then boiled them for around 15 minutes. (if they had been big globe artichokes, it would have taken 30-45 minutes)

i made a parmesan cheese sauce (like a vegetable sauce, or a fondue sauce) and served that with the cooked artichokes.

to eat an artichoke, you pull off the petals, dip in the sauce, and scrape the inside white flesh from the outer woody part of the petal, with your teeth. once you get closer to the center of the artichoke, you can just bite the petal in half, or eat the entire thing. the heart is the tight bulb of yellow young leaves in the centre, and is delicious! just don't eat the choke, which is the fuzzy part of the artichoke, that sits below the petals, right at the base of the artichoke. (where the stem meets the artichoke).

so, i liked it! david on the other hand, thought it was far too much work for what you got, and said that it was just a way to eat dip. now...agreed...i probably did taste more dip than artichoke on most bites, but once you get to the heart, it is really tasty! it is worth trying for sure. you can find instructional videos on how to prep and cook your artichokes on youtube. that's where i got most of my information.

yum!! i love trying new, strange things.

cheers everyone!