Roasting artichokes brings out their nutty, delicious flavor. The process isn’t open roasting, to my mind it is kind of a steaming in the oven, the halved olive oil-coated “arties” arranged cut-side down and covered with foil.
I fell in love with them at TAPS Fish House and Brewery in Irvine. Executive chef Ryan Robertson does them to perfection – served with herb vinaigrette, Pecorino cheese, Romano cheese, Meyer lemon and basil pesto aioli.
So … I wanted to recreate them at home. Using my new favorite cookbook, “Vegetables Illustrated” from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen, I pulled out my sharpest knife and set to work. Here’s the truth …. prepping raw artichokes requires time and determination = trimming, halving, removing the fuzzy chokes requires dedication. But truly, they are delicious.
Roasted Artichokes with Lemon Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 servings, or 8 half-artichoke servings
3 lemons
4 artichokes (8 to 10 ounces each)
9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped Italian parsley
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Cut 1 lemon in half, squeeze halves into large container filled with 2 quarts water, then add the spent halves. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, trim steam to about 1/4 inch and cut off top quarter of artichoke. Break off bottom 3 or 4 rows of tough outer leaves by pulling them downward. Using kitchen shears, trim off top portion of outer leaves. Using paring knife. trim off outer layer of steam and base, removing any dark green parts. Cut artichoke in half from top to bottom. Remove choke and any tiny inner purple-tinged leaves using small spoon. Submerge prepped artichokes in lemon water. Prep remaining artichokes.
- Cover bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil. (I used a rimmed baking sheet so I got more caramelization on the cut side – it’s up to you.) Remove artichokes from lemon water, shaking off excess water. Toss artichoke halves with 2 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper. Gently rub oil between leaves. Arrange cut side down on prepared dish (pan). Trim ends of remaining 2 lemons, halve crosswise and arrange cut side down in dish (pan) next to artichokes. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast until cut sides of artichokes begin to brown and bases and leaves are tender when poked with the top of paring knife, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Transfer artichokes to serving platter. Let lemons cool slightly then squeeze into fine-meshed strainer set over bowl, extracting as much juice as possible (press firmly on solids to yield 1 1/2 tablespoons. Whisk parsley, garlic, mustard and 1/2 teaspoon salt into juice. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in 6 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon dressing over artichokes. (These beauties are delicious warm, at room temperature or cold. Source: “Vegetables Illustrated” (America’s Test Kitchen, $40 price on cover)
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