Steamed Artichokes with Anchovy Butter
Artichokes are a bitter, thorny vegetable who’s sweetness is brought out once gently steamed (for upwards of an hour!). They are ideal dipped in butter, but if you are an aioli/mayonnaise person that is fine by me. TLDR; they require a dip, preferably a rich and fatty one. I don’t use a steamer basket—the stem stands them up straight enough to where I don’t really feel like I need one. I use a medium pot for two, which fit snugly, just the way I like it.
As for the thorn removal, just use a good pair of sharp kitchen shears and go slowly, like you’re doing an art project. Try to only cut off the thorn (don’t go too deep on the leaf) or they’ll look stubby and less elegant, and be more difficult to pluck off the body. For more on how to eat an artichoke (which I’ve been told is the most intimidating part), it’s in the recipe as the last step.
YIELD — 2 servings
Ingredients
2 large globe artichokes
Kosher salt
6 oz. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2-4 anchovy filets
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved for squeezing over
Flaky salt
Directions
For the steamed artichokes:
1. Using a sharp knife, trim the artichoke stems, leaving as little as ½” or as much as 2” (depends if they’ll fit in your pot or not). With the artichoke laying on a cutting board, use a sharp knife to slice off the upper 1” off the top, exposing the rose-pattered interior. If you like (and I do recommend), use kitchen scissors to snip off the thorns on each remaining leaf.
2. Bring 2” of water to a simmer in a large pot. Place artichokes inside upright (stem on the bottom) and season with salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and steam until leaves pull out easily and hearts are tender (you can use tongs to try and pull a leaf so you don’t burn your hands), 60–70 minutes.
For the anchovy-garlic butter:
3. While the artichokes steam, melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add garlic and anchovies, swirling to combine. Remove from heat and stir until anchovies are totally melted; season with salt and pepper.
4. Squeeze a bit of lemon over each steamed artichoke, sprinkle with flaky salt and serve alongside warm anchovy-garlic butter.
To eat:
5. To understand the eating of an artichoke, knowing the anatomy is helpful. The leaves (edible) surround a choke (inedible) which rests on top of the heart (very edible) which is connected to the stem (also edible).
To eat the artichoke, pluck each leaf at a time, dipping generously into the butter, letting it pool into the naturally occurring cup shape at the bottom of the leaf. Using your teeth (bottom or top), scrape the meat from the bottom half.
6. The further and further you go into the center of the artichoke, the leaves change from sturdy and fibrous to thin and delicate. There is a sweet spot for the leaves, after the darkest green ones and before the palest, featheriest ones where they are tender enough to eat whole. This is a deeply personal choice and is certainly not common practice. I also eat the shells of peanuts and sunflower seeds on occasion. It’s my treat, for me and for me alone.
7. Eventually, you’ll begin to see the choke reveal itself, the ombre of green to white to lavender to plum color. A reminder that eating an artichoke is a real adventure.
7. Once you get to the purple-ish leaves that are so thin they’re almost transparent with pointy tips, discard them. They are too dangerous, too choke-adjacent to enjoy. Peel them off in one layer, revealing…The Choke. It looks like millions of small, tiny feathers or fibers of a brush large enough only for a doll.
8. Using a spoon or fork, gently scrape the choke away from the heart. The heart looks almost like the black part of a sunflower, where the seeds are. This checks out, as they are related to the same family, along with other thistles. That’s beautiful to me.
9. Cut the heart into quarters and, knowing it’s the best part of the artichoke, dip each one into the butter, then eat it. I also eat the stem, as it’s a flavorful and similarly-textured continuation of the heart.