Globe Artichokes 250-350g

Artichoke flesh is nutty, verdant, and a little sweet — with a flavour reminiscent of fresh corn.

You can boil, grill, braise, or stuff and bake artichokes. But my favorite way to cook artichokes, and the easiest way to cook them, is to steam them. The artichokes are done when a knife is inserted into the base and there is no resistance.

Whole steamed artichokes are a finger food. After cooking, You peel off a petal, then scrape off the tender portion at the tip with your teeth. Dip the ends of the leaves in lemon juice and melted butter if desired. The outermost layers tend to be the toughest, and the leaves get softer as you get closer to the center.

Be careful when you reach the purple leaves at the very center — they tend to be prickly, so use a kitchen towel to discard them. When you reach the choke (the fuzzy bit), scrape it off with a spoon or carefully slice it off, and discard. All that’s left now is the heart.

The heart is completely edible and amazingly delicious. The other parts of the artichoke -- the actual leaves, the hairy stuff at the bottom, the stem, etc. - are not eaten. The fuzzy choke is too fibrous to eat in regular artichokes, but edible in baby artichokes.

Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot, but I think they are much better hot. They are served with a dip, either melted butter or mayonnaise.

They can also be barbecued or grilled: cut in half lengthwise, remove the choke, brush with olive oil and grill for 30 minutes, until tender.

A good guide on cleaning and trimming artichokes is at https://www.finecooking.com/article/how-to-clean-and-trim-artichokes-for-recipes