Boiled Whole Artichokes With Mayonnaise
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 4whole globe artichokes, each about the size of a fist (8 to 10 ounces)
- 1whole egg, plus 2 egg yolks
- 2garlic cloves, peeled
- 2lemons — 1 juiced, 1 quartered
- 1½cups neutral oil, like sunflower
- 1 to 2tablespoons cold water
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
806 calories; 87 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 55 grams monounsaturated fat; 24 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 4 grams protein; 469 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to boil — large enough to submerge all four artichokes. Once the water is boiling, season it with salt to taste. Slice off the domed top quarter of the artichokes, remove the black tip of the stem and immediately place the artichokes in the boiling water. To cook the artichokes evenly and prevent them from bobbing at the surface, place a lid one size smaller than the pot you are using directly on top of the artichokes, weighing them down so they are submerged. Reduce the heat until the water is at a hard simmer, and cook the artichokes until you can easily pierce the bottom choke (where the stem meets the base) with a cake tester or the sharp tip of a thin knife with no resistance, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Step 2
While artichokes cook, prepare the mayonnaise: Place the egg, egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice and two healthy pinches of salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Whiz for 5 seconds, then, with the machine on, slowly add about half the neutral oil in a thin, steady stream. Turn the machine off, and add 1 tablespoon cold water. Turn the machine back on, and finish adding the neutral oil in a steady stream. If mayonnaise is thick, blend in the remaining 1 tablespoon cold water. Mayonnaise should be light, satiny and silken. Taste the mayonnaise, and add salt as needed. Set aside at room temperature.
- Step 3
Transfer the cooked artichokes to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, positioning them upside down to drain. Let stand at room temperature until they are cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Then remove the stems in an even cut, leaving the artichokes with a flat base. Peel the fibrous outer layer (and any strings) off the stems, cut the stems into ¼-inch coins and reserve.
- Step 4
Place the artichokes, stem side down, on a clean work surface. Gently open up the artichokes to reveal the inner leaves, using your fingers a little like the way you might open your own eye to receive drops, or even resembling the gesture you use to enlarge an image on your iPhone screen. Then pinch the whole purple and spiky choke at the center in one handful, and pluck it out, revealing the fuzzy hair that sits firmly attached in the cup of the heart. Remove this fuzz with your fingertip, or use a small spoon to scrape it away, taking care not to gouge or dig too deep into the goose-pimpled flesh.
- Step 5
To assemble, place a healthy dollop of mayonnaise in the very center of each artichoke. Spoon in a few of the stem coins, then drizzle artichoke and mayonnaise with olive oil. Serve with additional mayonnaise and lemon wedges. (Any leftover mayonnaise will keep, refrigerated, up to 1 week.)
Private Notes
Comments
Don't trim them, don't boil them! You people are animals. I grew up in Calfornia feasting on artichokes. Just cut the stem, wash them, put them in a steamer with some garlic on them and an olive oil drizzle. When the leaves come off easily, you're done. I mix mayonnaise, garlic and a little red wine for dipping. Don't overthink this.
As a native for the central coast of California, I grew up on artichokes and I need to add a couple of points here: 1) artichokes taste their best (sweetier, nuttier) when you choose the brown and bruised ones which have been on the plant through a frost, and; 2) HOLLANDAISE! The best dipping sauce for artichokes, especially made with Eureka lemons and not Meyers which are too timid in flavor for this treat!
You know, back when I was kid in California, that's the way we did it. Never any other way. Still a bit of a chore to eat, one leaf at a time, but worth it, I think, although my husband doesn't. We do have an artichoke flower, picked in August 1964 right after we got married, when the flower was marvelously purple. The purple has faded a bit as the flower dried, but the marriage is still going strong.
I had never boiled them and will never again. Very soggy and unappetising. Please steam!!
In the 70's, the Chart House at the base of the Santa Barbara pier, they served artichokes at every table with the bread. Secret: trim top and clip the tips. Boil with whole lemon, squeezed, onion, garlic cloves, salt, bay leaf, 1 Tb. Oregano and a little olive oil. Good even without Best Foods mayo with lemon added as a mock hollandaise.
-Cut stem from base of artichoke. Stand stem up and trim outer layer. Cut off top 1/3 of artichoke. Remove any small leaves from base of artichoke as you see fit. -stuff some garlic down into leaves -simmer: lidded pot, add chokes and stems and water to 1/4-1/3 height of chokes. Drizzle olive oil over chokes and water. Add some garlic to pot if you wish. With lid, simmer for about 45 minutes. Taste leaf for doneness. Serve chokes and stems with or without (my preference) sauce.