Steamed artichokes

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5 from 1 vote

Steamed artichoke melt in your mouth, they are creamy and with a mild flavor, slightly nutty, slightly sweet.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Side dish, Starter

Cuisine: International

Keyword: artichokes, steamed

Servings: servings

Calories: 104kcal

Author: Nico

Equipment

steamer basket

Ingredients

5 artichokes
1 lemon
2 leaves mint or bay leaves (optional)

Serving suggestion

2 tablespoons vegan mayo
1 pinch salt
2 twists black pepper
1 handful parsley chopped

Instructions

Clean artichokes

Fill up a large bowl with cold water, then squeeze the juice of a lemon in it. Set aside.
With a serrated knife, cut off the top spiky ⅓ of the artichoke and remove tough outer leaves. Trim the stem down to 2 inches and peel it.
With your thumbs, loosen up the head of the artichoke exposing the choke. With a knife or with a sturdy teaspoon, remove the choke - the fuzzy central part.
Put the artichoke in the bowl with the lemon water to prevent discolouration and browning.

Steam artichokes

To a large pot add 1½ inches of water and the bay leaves or mint. Put the steamer basket into the pot, then arrange the artichokes on the steamer basket, head down.
Cover the pot, bring to a simmer, and steam until tender. It can take from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of your artichokes.
Pierce with the tip of a pointy knife to check doneness. The knife should slide in easy.
Serve with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and black pepper, or dip in vegan mayo.

Notes

To learn more about artichokes, check out our guide on "how to cook artichokes" which includes our best and easiest artichoke recipes.

How to eat steamed artichokes?

You can eat three parts of steamed artichokes: the stem, the heart and part of the petals.

Now, depending on how well you cleaned them, you might still have some rough petals around the artichoke. If you do, then eat them one by one.

Peel off one petal at a time, hold it with the tips of your thumb and index fingers, then put it in your mouth and scrape the flesh off with your teeth.

This is kind of fun to do, and the leaves are packed with antioxidants like no other veggie, but it's gonna be a little messy, I warned you.

Then when you reach the softer petals, you can just either eat the artichoke with a knife and fork or with your hands.

I like to remove the petals from the heart. Then first I eat the petals, they are super soft. Then all I am left with is the heart, and trust me, that’s one of the most delicious things ever!

And because we cleaned out the choke before, you don't have to worry about that, and you can just dig in and eat the whole thing.

Nutrition