Baby Artichokes Elegant And Easy First Course Recipes

Steps:

• Peel off and discard a few outer petals of the artichokes until you reach the pale, tender center. Trim the top and stem end, then quarter each artichoke. There should be no discernible choke, but if there is, remove it with a paring knife. Put the artichokes in a bowl of cold water to which the lemon juice has been added.
• In a wide, heavy, nonaluminum skillet, heat a 1/2 inch of olive oil over medium heat. Drain and blot the artichokes and, when the oil is nearly smoking, carefully add them to the skillet. Season well with salt and pepper, stirring to coat with oil. Let the artichokes brown slightly, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until they are tender when probed with a paring knife.
• Add the red pepper, garlic and parsley. Stir well and let sizzle for a minute or so. Transfer the artichokes to a platter, sprinkle with coarse salt and serve with lemon wedges, or sprinkle sparingly with red wine vinegar. Eat hot, or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Cut off stem at base of artichoke. Cut 1 in. from the top. With scissors, snip the tip end of each leaf. Remove outer leaves. Rub cut ends of leaves with lemon juice., Place artichokes in a Dutch oven; add lemon slices and garlic. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until artichoke leaves near the center pull out easily. Drain; arrange on a serving platter. Refrigerate for 1 hour., For dip, in a bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in green pepper and onion. Serve with artichokes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Prepare artichokes. Remove the tough outer leaves of the artichokes and trim the stems. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer green layer from the stem. Cut off the top third of the head to remove the tough ends of the leaves, then split it down the middle. Rub with lemon as you work so they don't turn brown.
• Mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. Lay the artichoke halves cut-side up in a roasting dish and drizzle with the olive oil mixture. Roast in the oven until the artichokes are tender, about 20 minutes.
• To serve, top with the cheese and garnish with the parsley.

Steps:

• Boil artichokes, completely submerging in salted water until tender, 10-20 minutes, depending on their size. Drain well and cool.
• Discard tough outer leaves, cut off stem so that the artichoke will stand by itself on a plate.
• Cut across the top part of the artichoke, 1/2" or so, and use scissors to decoratively cut across a few of the remaining outside leaves to resemble a "flower". Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Mix mayonnaise, mustard, kosher salt and pepper to taste.
• When ready to serve, use a spoon to place a thick line of the mayonnaise-mustard mixture off to one side of each individual small flat serving plate.
• Use a clean, unused comb, or similar, to draw wavy lines on the plate through the sauce. Place the cooked artichokes on the plate and sprinkle dill weed atop the "wavy" sauce, and serve.

Steps:

• Remove dark tough exterior leaves from artichokes. Trim stem end and cut off top of each artichoke, then cut in half lengthwise. Put artichoke halves in a bowl and cover with buttermilk. Leave to soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix together flour, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drain artichokes, dip in seasoned flour to coat and put on a plate in one layer.
• Pour 1/2 inch oil in a wide skillet and place over medium-high heat. When oil is wavy, carefully slip in artichokes one at a time, taking care not to crowd the pan. (Fry in batches if necessary.) Let fry gently until one side is well browned, about 2 minutes, then turn over and brown other side. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt.
• Make the gremolata: Combine parsley, garlic, lemon zest, orange zest and capers. Put fried artichokes on a platter and sprinkle generously with the mixture. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges.