This is a simple steamed artichoke recipe served with a lemon garlic butter dipping sauce. Cooking artichokes is easy if you have a large pot. It can be cooked with or without a steamer basket or with an artichoke stand insert.
I love artichokes. My man does not. I will steam an artichoke when he's out of town, douse it with garlic lemon butter dipping sauce and eat the heart and leaves for dinner.
How To Eat Steamed Artichokes with Butter Dipping Sauce
Eat the cooked tender edges at the base of each leaf until getting to the fuzzy layer above the heart. Cut out the fuzzy choke and dice up the meaty interior heart of the artichoke. Marinate the diced artichoke heart in the butter dipping sauce for a minute or two before eating.
Wanna make eating the leaves a less prickly experience? Cut off the thorny tips of the artichoke leaves before cooking. I never do this because I like to experience the fear of getting poked, plus I'm lazy 🙂
If the leaves are tender then they are game for eating. Eat the leaves as far up the leaf base as is tender and still tastes good to you. The artichoke meat should glide easily off the leaf and the more tender leaves towards the base are nearly all edible, except the thorny tip.
The fuzzy chokes are not poisonous - they are just not edible. The little tender leave ends near the artichoke heart can be eaten up to the inedible thorny end.
The tender heart has to be cut from the fuzzy inedible choke. Give it a rinse to get rid of those hairy buggers before you dice the artichoke heart and dip it in the butter dipping sauce.
What Kind Of Pot Do I Use To Cook Artichokes?
I steam the artichoke in a large pot with a steamer insert but there are dedicated kitchen tools specifically for steaming artichokes. Artichoke stands are a handy tool if you start to stress out about a level stem so the artichoke doesn't fall over.
Don't have a pot with an insert? Just fill the pot with a couple inches of water and try to stand the artichoke up straight on it's stem. Cut the stem closer to the base and it will make it easier to stand the artichoke up straight.
Remember to check the water a couple times to make sure it's at a simmer and not a straight boil. It would suck if all the water boiled out of the pot.
Rest assured! The artichoke will still cook / steam perfectly if it falls over in your steamer insert, just turn it a couple times on different sides to help it cook more even or buy the artichoke stand if that gives you inner peace.
If all else fails, throw the entire artichoke in salted boiling water and simmer ~ 35-45 minutes or until soft. In my opinion this method is easier but a little less desirable because it gets water logged and a lot of the artichokes taste gets leached into the water.
Variations on Artichoke Dipping Sauce with Butter
Don't like onion or garlic powder? Skip it. Have fresh garlic? Mince it into a paste - but remember that a little goes a long way in butter dip.
Like extra lemon juice? Add some more. Zest the lemon before if you want extra lemon taste. Add that to the butter dip mixture.
Have artichoke butter dipping sauce left over? Cool - use it to cook chicken or vegetables in another day.
Don't like butter? Cool - just mix some mayonnaise together with the garlic powder, salt, and lemon.
Steamed Artichoke with Lemon Butter Dipping Sauce
EatSimpleFood.com
This is an easy steamed artichoke recipe served with a lemon garlic butter dipping sauce. Cooking the artichoke is easy if you have a large pot and can be cooked with or without a steamer basket.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 artichoke
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- pinch onion powder
- pinch garlic salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon (½ lemon) fresh lemon juice
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot with 3" salted water to a boil. Cut the artichoke stem smooth and even so it can stand up on it's own. This is easier to do if it's cut closer to the base.
- Insert a steaming basket (or artichoke stand) into the pot along with the artichoke, preferably standing upright (just set the artichoke upright in the water if you don't have a steaming basket).
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook ~35-45 minutes or until tougher outer leaves pull off easy and flesh is soft.
Make the artichoke butter dipping sauce:
- Gently melt the butter in the microwave or stovetop and combine remaining ingredients and mix.
How To Eat:
- Pull a leaf off, dip into butter mixture, and scrap off the tender meat with your teeth. Grab a napkin - that butter can get messy.
- After you eat all the leaves, you will get down to the inedible fuzzy choke. Cut or spoon out the fuzzy thistly choke, give it a quick rinse, and dice the heart and 1" of the stem.
- The rest of the stem may be too tough or stringy to eat but give it a taste and see. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Wanna make eating the leaves a less prickly experience? Cut the tips off before cooking.
- Stovetop crowded with other things? Wrap the artichoke in aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 425F for 75 minutes.
- Rest assured! Your artichoke will still cook / steam perfectly if it falls over in your steamer insert, just turn it a couple times on different sides to help it cook more even or buy the artichoke stand if that gives you inner peace 🙂
- If all else fails, throw the entire artichoke in salted boiling water and simmer ~ 35-45 minutes or until soft. In my opinion this method is easier but a little less desirable because it gets water logged and a lot of the taste gets leached into the water.
- The fuzzy chokes are not poisonous - they are just not edible. The little tender leave ends near the choke can be eaten up to the inedible thorny end.
Things In My Kitchen:
- Artichoke Steamer - it's a little luxury item but at least the artichoke doesn't fall over. Make sure you have a big pot to place it in.
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Serving Suggestion
Serve this steamed artichoke and butter dipping sauce with a side dish recipe like an antipasto salad or some crunchy green beans, or use it as an appetizer for a main dish.
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If you like this simple steamed artichoke with butter dipping sauce, then you may also like one of these lighter appetizer type recipes.
Many thanks for reminding me that it is time for Artichokes--I do love them. Your simple recipe is the way to prepare the artichoke--too much fussing is a waste of time and flavor.
Thanks for the comment Henny. A great cook once told me if you don't know what to do with a vegetable or don't want to think about recipes, then just boil the veg and add some fat and salt. It's been great advice.