Steamed Artichokes With Tarragon Mayonnaise Recipes

Steps:

• For the artichokes: Fill a pot (large enough to hold both the artichokes) with 2 inches of water. Add salt to taste and the parsley sprigs and lemon slices if using.
• Trim each artichoke by holding it firmly on its side and slicing off the top 1/2 inch or so, then cutting off the stem close to the base. Remove the smaller tough leaves around the base of the artichoke. Rinse the artichoke, separating the leaves as you do this. If you wish, you can cut off the tips of each leaf with scissors.
• Put the artichokes in the pot (the stem ends can be up or down, it doesn't matter), cover the pot and bring the water to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to simmer until a knife slides easily into the base of an artichoke or a leaf comes out very easily when pulled, 25 to 40 minutes. Make sure the water doesn't evaporate; check after about 20 minutes and add more if needed.
• For the dipping sauce: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, blend together the mayonnaise, parsley, lemon juice and harissa. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve the artichokes stem-side down on plates, making sure there is room on the plates to discard the leaves (or place a communal bowl in the middle of the table for people to toss in used leaves). Serve the sauce in tiny bowls on the side.

Steps:

• Cut stem from artichokes and discard, making sure the bottom of each artichoke is flat. Cut top 1 inch (or so) of the artichoke and discard. Snip the thorny ends from each artichoke leaf with a pair of kitchen scissors.
• Fill the bottom of a pot with a couple of inches of water, adding garlic, lemon juice, and bay leaf to the water. Place a steamer basket in the pot, making sure that the water does not flow over the bottom of the steamer basket.
• Place the artichokes in the basket, resting on the flattened bottoms.
• Bring water to a boil, cover the pot, and cook until the leaves can be easily pulled from the artichoke, 20 to 30 minutes.

Steps:

• To make mayonnaise, in blender or food processor, place tofu, lemon juice, mustard, salt, shallot and garlic. Cover and blend on medium speed until smooth. With blender on, add oil by drops. Place in glass or plastic container; stir in tarragon. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or until chilled.
• Place steamer basket in 1/2 inch water in saucepan or skillet (water should not touch bottom of basket). Place asparagus in basket. Cover tightly and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Steam 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Serve with mayonnaise.

Steps:

• Pull off any brown or very tough outer leaves from one artichoke. Use a sharp knife to cut off the top 1 inch of artichoke, then rub with the cut side of the lemon. Use kitchen shears or scissors to cut the pointy tops off the remaining outer layer of leaves. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel the stem down to its tender pale-colored core; immediately rub the stem with a lemon half. Use your fingers to separate the center leaves to expose the fuzzy pale choke sitting on top of the heart. Use a grapefruit spoon (or other spoon) to scoop out the choke, and rub a little lemon juice over the exposed flesh. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.
• Fill a medium pot with 2 inches of water, place a steamer basket inside, and bring water to a simmer. Place the artichokes bottoms down on the rack, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer over low heat until you can easily pull off an artichoke leaf, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the steamer basket and transfer to a serving platter.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Slowly whisk in butter. To serve, have everyone pull off the leaves and dunk the meaty bottoms into the lemon butter, swirling to mix butter with each dip (the butter will separate as it sits).

Steps:

• Make a bowl of acidulated water: Fill a large bowl with cold water. Squeeze the juice of 2 lemons into bowl along with the lemon halves; set aside.
• Using a serrated knife, cut off 1/2 inch from the top of an artichoke. Remove any small leaves from the bottom and trim stem so artichoke can stand upright. Use kitchen shears to trim sharp tips of artichoke leaves. Transfer to acidulated water, and repeat with remaining artichokes.
• Fill a large pot with about 2 inches of water and add tarragon and a pinch of salt. Set steamer basket in pot, making sure water doesn't seep through holes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a rapid simmer.
• Place artichokes stem side up in steamer and season with salt. Cover pot and steam until bottoms of artichokes are very tender when pierced to the center with the tip of a paring knife, about 40 minutes. (Add more hot water if necessary to maintain level during cooking.)
• To make the tarragon butter: Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then stir in chopped tarragon and lemon juice, and season with salt.
• Place an artichoke on each plate, remove the center leaves and with a spoon gently scrape down to the heart. Serve with lemon wedges and warm tarragon butter on the side for dipping.

Steps:

• Place each artichoke on its side on a flat surface. Use a serrated knife to saw off the stem at the base of the artichoke so it can sit upright on a plate without falling over once cooked.
• In a large pot, add 3 inches of water. Insert a steamer basket. Place the artichokes top-down in the basket, wedged in a single layer. Cover. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 35 minutes. If the pot runs out of water while cooking, simply add more to the bottom.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, oil, capers, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce and red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the chives.
• Serve the artichokes with the dipping sauce.

Steps:

• Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook artichokes, covered, in large pot of boiling salted water until tender when pierced with knife, about 45 minutes. Drain well. (Basil mayonnaise and artichokes can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
• Serve artichokes warm, at room temperature or chilled with basil mayonnaise.

Steps:

• Pack artichokes upright in a large pot. Add garlic. Pour in water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 35 minutes. Transfer to a plate; let cool. Peel and mash 4 steamed garlic cloves (reserve remainder for lamb). Stir in mayonnaise, zest, lemon juice, pepper, sugar, and salt. Remove artichoke leaves (reserve hearts for stuffing). Refrigerate leaves and aioli separately until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Trim the stems off the artichokes and strip off any extra leaves. Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut off a generous one-third at the top of each artichoke. This will remove most of the thorns and expose the center of the artichoke.
• Rinse the chokes thoroughly, then arrange them in the slow cooker insert (an oval-shaped cooker works best). Pour in the water, cover, and cook on low for about 6 hours, or until a fork easily pierces the stem end of the choke or a leaf can easily be pulled off.
• Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing or mayo.
• To make the stuffing, break up the bread slices and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the bread is in large crumbs. Add the parsley, garlic, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to taste and pulse until thoroughly mixed.
• To make the mayo, place the vinegar, egg, and mustard in the bowl of a food processor or a blender and mix thoroughly. With the machine running, drop in the garlic cloves, then slowly pour in the vegetable oil. Pouring the oil slowly is important to the process of thickening the mayo. When the mayo has thickened, drop in the tarragon and pulse just until thoroughly mixed in. (If you let the machine continue to run, you will have green mayo, which, in some cases, might be just the ticket.) Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
• Carefully remove the artichokes from the water using tongs and invert them in a colander or strainer so that any excess water can drain out. Using a spoon or your fingers, pull out the fuzzy center choke of each artichoke, leaving a nice hole. (It is important to let the artichokes cool somewhat before attempting to remove the chokes so that you do not burn your fingers.)
• If you are using the stuffing, spoon some of the stuffing into each cavity. Spoon the mayo into small bowls for dipping.
• Serve warm or at room temperature. (Unstuffed artichokes can be eaten even cold.)
• For some fun and entertainment at your next party, give several guests a large mortar and pestle and the ingredients for the mayo and let them make the mayo by hand. Put the vinegar, egg, mustard, and garlic in the mortar and smash it up. Incorporate the the vegetable oil a few drops at a time, pounding it in with the pestle, until the mayo is nice and thick. Be sure to keep their wineglasses full!
• Artichokes are generally considered a difficult food to pair with wines. I think the fun would be to experiment and find out what, if anything, works. Put out some bottles of rosé, a chilled white or two (Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, or Grigio), perhaps a sparkling wine, and maybe even a red.