Marinated Sicilian Artichokes Recipe

Today I was able to sort out the Marinated Artichoke recipe.

What you’ll need:

[unordered_list style=”tick”]

• 5  Artichokes
• ½  Cup extra virgin Olive Oil
• 1  Lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic unpeeled
• 3-4  oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and julienned
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• big pinch of salt
• smaller pinch of pepper
• ½ cup water  + a bowl of cold water

[/unordered_list]

To keep the artichokes from discoloration I make a bowl of cold water and squeeze the lemon juice in.  set aside.

Snap off tough 3 or 4 layers of outer leaves from artichokes until pale yellow tender leaves are reached. Dip in the lemon water.

Trim away dark green areas along base. Trim off end of stem. Cut artichokes lengthwise in half. Using edge of small spoon, scoop out fuzzy choke.   Its weird that this little section is called the choke, but being the nerd that I am I found a picture showing the anatomy of an artichoke (below). 🙂 Artichokes are a very odd vegetable… and its sad how little of the artichoke is actually edible.  Add trimmed artichokes to bowl of lemon water.

In large skillet combine oil, garlic, tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and ½ cup water. Drain artichokes and add to pan; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Uncover and cook until tender when pierced with tip of a knife.  Your kitchen will smell great at this point.

Put the artichokes into a bowl or dish and then put the oil mixture right over top.  Let cool and pull the rosemary sprig, bay leaf, and garlic if you want.  Usually I can’t wait for them to cool…. believe me they are good warm too.

Below are some glamor shots along the way and the anatomy of the artichoke that I promised.   Buon Appetito!