Recipe of the Month

Grilled Artichokes
sliced fresh artichokes

Ingredients:

4 large artichokes
2-3 tablespoons Olive oil
½ teaspoon Sea salt
½ teaspoon Garlic powder
1 lemon

Directions:

  1. Start with quality artichokes: Select the freshest artichokes you can find. Look for tight heads and stems that are not dried out.
  2. Wash and trim the artichokes: Before grilling, wash and trim the artichokes, removing the base, crown, and their prickly leaf tips so nobody gets poked eating them. Use a sharp knife to cut off the top, just about a ¼ inch.
  3. Then use kitchen scissors to cut of pokey tips of the leaves. Keep them from browning: As you trim, rub the cut areas with a lemon wedge to keep the artichokes from browning.
  4. Steam the artichokes: Starting by steaming before briefly grilling the artichokes keeps them from drying out and burning on the grill. Place artichokes upside down in simmering water. You can squeeze juice from ½ lemon into cooking water to keep artichoke from browning.
  5. Halve the artichokes: After steaming, let the artichoke cool then slice each artichoke in half to expose the leaves and hearts. 
  6. Remove the hairy choke: You'll also want to scoop out the inedible choke (the furry, prickly part near the heart). *If artichokes are large you may want to quarter.
  7. Season the artichokes: Keep things simple and let the artichokes' nutty flavor shine through by seasoning them lightly with oil, salt, and pepper, and garlic powder.
  8. Grill over high heat: Grilling over direct heat ensures that the artichokes get the most smoke flavor and become perfectly tender. But keep them away from the flames so you don't burn the tender inner leaves.

How to Make Ahead:

You can steam artichokes a day before grilling. Let them cool, then cover and refrigerate. Bring them to room temperature while preheating the grill.

*Recipe courtesy of Lisa Fligor, MS, RDN, LD