Artichokes roll out every so often here at GHT, a family fave.  Interactive, tasty, a little different.   We serve it with a lemon aoili.   On a Saturday afternoon while the rest of dinner is getting itself together.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Goods: 

• 2 artichokes
• mayo
• sour cream
• zest of 1 lemon
• garlic powder, S&P

The Execution:

With a serrated knife saw off the top third of the artichokes (the sharp end), discard.  Cut a bit off the stem, and peel the rest of the stem to where the color changes.  Steam for a little over an hour.  Mix sour cream and mayo together, about a third cup of each.  Add zest and spices, mix.  Serve the steamed chokes with the aoili to dip.  

OK So Now What:

Hear this: you don’t eat the whole leaf, people.  Just don’t do it.  Hold the cut end, dip the other end in the aoili and stick in your mouth.  Bite down and pull the leaf out of your mouth.  The flesh that’s good to eat will come off.  Discard the rest of the leaf.  At some point as you get to the middle, you can start eating the whole leaf.  But then you’ll get to some leaves that are sharp – pull these off all at once to reveal the “choke” – this kind of fibrous disc.  Scrape off the fibers with a spoon and discard. Now you are left with the “heart”, which is really really good.  

p.s.  – The Occupy Wall Street crowd is supposed to invade the neighborhood next week.  Not really looking forward to all that again.  

• aoili
• artichokes
• don't fear the choke
• lemon zest