I’ve been a freak about vegetables for as long as I can remember. When I was a little kid, my mom always made whatever I wanted for dinner on my birthday, and you know what I always requested?
Steamed artichokes.
No pizza or chicken nuggets for this girl…I wanted vegetables. Or maybe it was the butter that you get to dip artichokes into.
Either way.
I don’t own a steamer basket (they’re probably like $5), so I just use my little colander. I like to put lemon and garlic in there because it makes the house smell amazing. And you can sort of taste it when you eat the artichoke.
Then I just put my colander over a big pot of boiling water and cover it with foil and a lid. It does the trick nicely.
Steam for about 30 minutes (or until the leaves peel off easily) and you are done!
Except for the butter. Ooooh the butter.
I like to roast a head of garlic and squeeze that in there, too. I’m actually salivating as I type this.
I wish that was a swimming-pool-sized ramekin.
Then just tear those little leaves off starting from the outside – dip each one in that buttery garlicky heaven and scrape off the meat with your bottom teeth.
You are welcome.
WOW! It is like Cafe A La Unger over here! Looks amazing and I bet your house does smell good!
You’d start drooling if you walked in my house right now.
I loooove steamed artichokes. This is going on my to make list!
I LOOO-OOOO-UUU-UUU-OOOO-OOOO-VE doing this. I love it.
Oh! I love it.
Beautiful food styling today.. and this is a great improvisation for steaming them! I was salivating as well!!
Thank you!
This is making my mouth water… I LOVE steamed artichokes. My dad would make them for us at least once a month and I could not get enough! Love the idea of the roasted garlic in the butter. YUM YUM!
Oh man, I’m glad I’m not the only child that was obsessed with artichokes! I was a super picky eater and wouldn’t touch anything else green, but I would eat artichokes as often as I could. I still have my parents make them when I go home. They’ll definitely flip when I suggest adding roasted garlic to our dipping butter!
I was a veggie kid too, always drinking v8 over pop. Maybe thats why we still love food.
Yum! I love artichokes. I remember in college we talked about them in a nutrition class & almost half the class had no idea you could eat them like that – they thought the heart was the only edible portion. One guy had no idea what an artichoke even was. Crazy.
OMG. I’m in love with artichokes!
this reminds me how long it’s been since I’ve had one of these! I love steamed (or even better, steamed & stuffed) artichokes.
I’ll have to try stuffing them next, any good recipes?!
My aunt makes this every Christmas just for me! I LOVE steamed artichokes.
Oooh I love steamed artichoke…but I think you’re right, the best part is dipping it in the garlicy-butter!
Way to spark another craving;)
I love artichokes! Those look SO good.
The first time I even heard of an artichoke – it was in a Babysitters Club book that I was reading when I was about 10 years old. They were eating pretty much this recipe! Funny. Looks great , have never tried eating artichokes this way, I’m totally missing out
I think it’s a pretty common way to eat them – I definitely didn’t make it up.
And I miss babysitter’s club books…hah!
YUM! have you ever seen the movie Julie and Julia? Because this reminds me of one of the dishes she makes
I used to ALWAYS ask for artichokes!!! They are so good, especially with the melted butter. And the heart is the best part!
i LOOOOOVE steamed artichokes! there is this restaurant in Boston and one of the appetizers is grilled artichokes and it comes with this creamy garlic butter dipping sauce that has the consistancy almost of yogurt but it is incredibly delicious…SUCH an underrated veggie!
I was wondering what we’d have for dinner….now I know.
Thank you!! I fix mine the same way….my kids LOVE them too!! Yum!!
Hola!
I so loove artichokes!! I’ve always eaten them grilled or stewed with some serrano ham, but your recipe must be deliciosa!!! I will try this one, for sure
The kids love artichokes. Whenever we make them, we seem to never have enough! No leftovers at this house with these green gems. I think I can smell the lemony garlic butter all the way to my house….Mmmmm good!
I LOVE garlic. Once when I was getting sick I figured I would eat some garlic to give my immune system a boost. So I roasted two whole bulbs and started eating the cloves with my fingers while standing at the kitchen island watching tv. Well, before I knew it I had eaten the whole entire bulb. When I went to yoga the next night I was mortified when I realized it was hot yoga. Man oh man I felt bad for the other people in class.
When I make artichokes I thinly slice garlic and slip bits of it in between the artichoke leaves. Takes a while but it is so worth it.
Haha, that’s the best story!! And what dedication to put slices of garlic inside the artichoke – I bet it’s amazing.
Mmmm. I love artichokes. I remember the first time I bought one, thinking I might be in over my head. Then I learned how ridiculously easy and tasty they are!
I like your idea of roasting the garlic for the garlic butter. Brilliant!
Oh my. You are just a beautiful, wonderful girl. I want those in front of me right now!!!
I always chicken out of buying artichokes because they look so complicated. Thank you for convincing me otherwise.
You will be shocked at how easy they are!
Did Baby A have any? I was an artichoke heart fiend when I was a little kid.
She didn’t really like them! I was shocked…maybe she’ll grow into it?
Hm…maybe. I don’t remember if I grew into liking them, but I grew out of it and now I don’t like them at all. Fried artichoke hearts are a traditional part of various holiday meals and I never eat them anymore.
Yummy! Must try these soon.
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I have just added your recipe as “further reading” to my blog post of today
http://onefrenchword.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/day-24-a-new-french-word-a-new-french-recipe-beurre-a-lail/
I love your blog and its wonderful photos. I live in the Finistère, France, where the artichoke is THE local vegetable. I grow them in my garden and they are on all the market stalls.
[...] and Garlic Butter alla Yes, I Want Cake. Yes, I want more artichokes [...]