Grilled Artichokes are easy to do and the flavor is amazing.
Last February I had my first experience with grilled artichokes at our annual Beach Babe and their Boys Valentine Dinner when Chef Merrill prepared and served them. After my first taste I knew I had to learn how to make them.
One of my readers left a comment on a post telling me about these wonderful artichokes they had at a restaurant and then she very kindly sent me a link to a recipe for them from the Food Network!
Using the recipe from Ellen, along with a few tips and hints from my friend Chef Merrill and several trial runs I have mastered the grilled artichoke!
Artichokes are what you might call “high maintenance”. They are work to prep but eating them is so fun and yummy!
I have bought my artichokes at Costco but of course I prefer to pick them up at the Farmer’s Market.
Most recipes will tell you to clip off the tips of each of the leaves in preparation for cooking. You just clip them off with a pair of scissors.
The artichoke lady at the Farmer’s Market said it really isn’t necessary any more because most artichokes now no longer have super pointy leaves. We clipped them off anyway – it gave my husband something to do 🙂
Slice the artichokes in half and you will see the choke – the hairy center piece.
Using a spoon you are going to remove the choke.
You can then brush on some lemon juice to prevent the artichoke from turning brown but I didn’t find that it really helped much.
Next you will place them in a pot of boiling water. Boil the artichokes for about 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of the artichoke) until the leaves begin to pull away and the meat becomes tender. Remove a leaf and test it to make sure it is done.
Place the artichokes on a cookie sheet cut side up and baste with the mixture of butter, white wine, olive oil and butter.
Place the artichokes on the grill and baste with more of the butter mixture. Grill on both sides until warm and there are nice grill marks. About 5 minutes on each side.
Traditionally artichokes are served with melted butter and garlic or olive oil but this recipe comes with an amazing dipping sauce – a spicy smoked tomato mayonnaise. It was so yummy I was dipping my entire dinner into it!
The mayo uses an ancho or pasilla powder which I found in a cellophane bag in the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store.
If you have never eaten an artichoke you just peel off a leaf, dip and place the end with the meat on it which is the end that was attached to the artichoke between your teeth and scrape the meat off.
Next time you want to try something new on the grill – give grilled artichokes a try. Eating them is so fun! Just peel and dip!
Please leave a comment (I love comments) and let me know what you think – have you ever grilled an artichoke before? Think it’s something you’d try?
Grilled Artichokes
Ingredients
- 4 large artichokes
- 1 lemon halved
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Spicy Smoked Tomato Mayonnaise:
- 4 sun dried tomatoes
- 2 tsp. of ancho or pasilla powder
- 1/4 cup garlic cloves
- 1/2 pound onions large, sliced thin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat
- Cut off the top of the artichoke with a knife and trim the sharp points of the leaves with scissors, rubbing with cut lemon as you go to avoid discoloration
- Remove the choke and squeeze with lemon juice
- Place artichokes in a large steamer or pot of boiling water until heart is tender, about 25 to 35 minutes depending upon size
- Allow to cool
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil
- Stir in the white wine and lemon juice, keep warm
- Grill the artichokes, basting with the butter mixture, until until golden on the surface and heated through, about 5 to 10 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper
- Serve with the Spicy Smoked Tomato Mayonnaise
Spicy Smoked Tomato Mayonnaise:
- Wrap garlic and onions loosely in 2 separate foil packets and roast/grill over indirect heat until they are soft, being careful not to burn them.
- The garlic should take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours; the onions should take about 30 to 45 minutes.
- In a food processor, puree the sun dried tomatoes, ancho or pasilla powder with the garlic and onions.
- Add the cayenne, chili powder, paprika and salt.
- Mix in the mayonnaise.
- Leftover mayonnaise will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 or 4 days
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Donna
August 19, 2009 at 2:21 amI recently discovered your blog and really enjoy reading about you and your family. The recipes look great and I’m hoping to try some soon. Thank you for sharing your blog with all of us.
Rachel
August 19, 2009 at 5:55 amI tried fresh artichokes once, but the outside layers were so so tough! I don’t know if I didn’t cook them long enough or what. They are pretty pricey too!
Stephanie
August 19, 2009 at 6:51 amI have never tried fresh artichokes because I didn’t know how to prepare them. Thank you for the recipe, pictures, and detailed instructions. Now, all I have to do is convince my husband to buy a grill.
Leah Call
August 19, 2009 at 7:43 amThese look amazing. Reading your blog reminds me of home, I grew up in Seattle, but now live in the Midwest. I made the perfect lemon cupcakes the other week for a friend and my husband suggested I make some more for someone else (so that he could eat the extras). Thanks for all the great recipes.
Heidi
August 19, 2009 at 8:03 amI love artichokes. Alas, I am the only one in my house who does! I can’t justify cooking them very often (like more than every few years) just to have them go to waste…I need to find another artichoke buddy and make a batch of these next time my hubby goes out of town :).
Erin
August 19, 2009 at 9:10 amYummy! Those look soo good! My whole family loves artichokes – we will definetely be making these for Sunday Dinner!!!
Loral
August 19, 2009 at 9:41 amBeautiful photography….makes me want to run out and get some artichokes!
Meredith
August 19, 2009 at 3:33 pmI would love to try this recipe! Is there anyway you could make the recipe easier to print without having to print the entire blog entry? I need to be conservative with my ink and paper!!
Thanks for your beautiful entries!
Jessica
August 19, 2009 at 8:15 pmI do love artichokes. I need to try this as intimidated as I am. I have a long running fear of buying vegetables that I’ve never prepared before. Even with a recipe or instructions, I just hate putting money, time and effort into something just to mess it all up and toss it in the trash. Thank you for inspiring me to step outside my comfort zone.
tori
August 19, 2009 at 10:45 pmI have tried so many of your recipes and LOVE every one of them.. I don’t know if my teenage boys will go for the artichokes;)!!
Marti
August 20, 2009 at 12:01 amOur family loves artichokes, but we’ve never had them grilled. Your recipe sounds delicious and the tomato mayonnaise must add an unusually good flavor. The older I get, the more I realize that it’s the sauce that makes the dish!
Michelle
August 20, 2009 at 7:44 pmLOVE artichokes. When hubby is working, I often just have an artichoke for dinner. 🙂 They can be a meal by themself! I usually steam mine and dip it in mayo with a sprinkling of seasoning salt. I’ll have to try grilling them!!
Fernanda
August 30, 2009 at 11:55 pmI often times complain at the cost of marinated artichokes, but after looking at your pictures of how to cut an artichoke ~ I’ve never actually handled a fresh artichoke~ I will never ever complain again about the cost of marinated artichokes. I absolutely love them but that hairy thing in the middle scares me and I would be worried that I wouldn’t get it all out. Great pictures and I absolutley LOVE your blog. You have a beautiful family!