Braised Artichokes Recipes

LEMON BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Bring 1/2 cup each water and white wine, two 9-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts, 3 wide strips lemon zest and 2 tablespoons each lemon juice and olive oil to a simmer in a large skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring halfway through, until the artichokes are tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and add 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons each olive oil and chopped parsley and mint. Cook, stirring, until the garlic softens, 1 to 2 more minutes.

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Trim 6 medium artichokes (see Cook's Note), leaving the stems intact. Halve lengthwise. Cook 2 each sliced carrots, celery stalks and leeks in a pot with 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 12 minutes. Add 3 sliced garlic cloves; cook 2 more minutes. Add the artichokes in a single layer; add 2 teaspoons salt, 2 bay leaves, 3 thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, 1 1/2 cups white wine, and water to cover. Lay a round of parchment paper on the artichokes and simmer until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the liquid.

QUICK BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut each artichoke lengthwise into quarters, through the stem. Using a spoon, remove the fuzzy choke from the heart of each quarter, and immediately squeeze juice from one of the lemon halves over all artichokes to prevent them from discoloring.
• Place all the ingredients, including the remaining lemon half, into a large saucepan; fill with enough cold water to cover artichokes. Cover pan, and bring the water to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook just until artichoke hearts can be pierced with a fork but are not too soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let artichokes sit in cooking liquid until ready to serve, up to 10 minutes. Transfer carefully to serving plates with a slotted spoon, allowing excess liquid to drain off.

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut each of the artichokes in half; remove the toughest outer leaves, use a spoon to remove the choke, and trim the bottom.
• Put 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it melts and foam subsides, add artichokes, cut side down. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add stock (it should come about halfway up the sides of the artichokes), bring to a boil, and cover; turn heat to medium-low. Cook for about 20 minutes or until tender, checking every 5 or 10 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in the pan, adding more stock as necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and transfer artichokes to serving platter.
• Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to a sauce. Stir in lemon zest and juice and remaining tablespoon butter; taste and adjust seasoning. Serve artichokes drizzled with sauce.

BRAISED BABY ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with water. Halve 1 lemon, squeeze the juice into the water and drop both halves into the bowl.
• Cut off the top quarter of the artichokes with a serrated knife. Peel the tough dark green skin from the stems using a paring knife and remove the tough outer leaves until the tender inner green leaves are revealed; it should be only a couple of layers. Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and toss into the lemon water.
• Zest and juice the remaining 2 lemons and reserve. Coat a large straight-sided skillet generously with olive oil and add the garlic, anchovies and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the garlic is very aromatic and the anchovies have dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the artichokes from the water and add them to the pan along with the reserved lemon zest and juice, the white wine and thyme. Season with salt and add just enough water to cover the artichokes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook until the artichokes are very soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the lid and let the liquid reduce until it comes less than halfway up the sides of the arties, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the thyme and toss in the parsley. Swirl and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust if you need to (you probably will). Put the artichokes on a rimmed serving platter or in a bowl. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the parmigiano on top.

EASY BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Fill a medium bowl with water and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon in the bowl, tossing in the lemon halves as well. Rinse each artichoke and trim 1/2-inch off of the stalk. Trim 1-inch off the top of each artichoke. Then cut each artichoke in half, from stalk to tip, and remove the choke with a spoon. Remove the tough outer leaves and trim the outside of the stalk with a paring knife. Add the prepped artichokes to the bowl of lemon water to keep from browning.
• Slice the remaining lemon. In a baking dish large enough to place the artichokes in 1 even layer, place the slices in the dish to form a bed for the artichokes. In the center of each artichoke, add a garlic half and drizzle with half the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place cut side down on top of the lemon slices. Pour the chicken stock around the sides, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the tops of the artichokes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and firmly seal with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven until fork-tender and the leaves peel off easily, about 1 hour.

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• 1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
• 2. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
• 3. Add the artichokes and toss until they're coated with oil.
• 4. Add the wine, mint or thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
• 5. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• 6. Discard the thyme (if using).
• 7. Transfer the artichokes to a plate, drizzle them with pan juices, and serve.

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with water. Cut 2 of the lemons in half, squeeze the lemon into the water, and drop the lemon halves into the water.
• Remove the outer leaves from the artichokes until you are left with only the light green centers. Cut off and discard the tough stem ends of the artichokes, leaving as much as 1 or 2 inches of stem attached. Using a vegetable peeler or a small sharp knife, shave the artichoke stems, revealing the light green inner stems. Cut 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch off the tip ends of the artichoke leaves so they have flat tops and discard all of the trimmed leaves and bits. Place the trimmed artichokes in the lemon water as you finish them. (You can prepare the artichokes to this point up to a day in advance. Leave them in the lemon-water until you're ready to braise them.)
• Pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil into a large sauté pan; add the onion and garlic, season with salt, and cook over high heat for about 2 minutes, until the onion just begins to soften. Add the artichokes and season with salt. Turn off the heat. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the artichokes; the amount will vary depending on the size of the pan you're cooking them in. Squeeze the remaining lemon into the pan with the artichokes and drop the squeezed halves into the olive oil. Add the rosemary sprigs. Place a large paper coffee filter or a piece of cheesecloth on top of the artichokes and pat it down to saturate the paper or cloth with the oil so that it rests directly on the surface of the oil to help keep the artichokes submerged. Turn the heat on high to heat the oil until it begins to boil just around the edges of the pot; you don't want the oil at a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook the artichokes without tending them for 25 to 35 minutes, until they are just barely tender when pierced with a small, sharp knife; they will continue gently cooking as they sit in the oil, making them very tender and buttery. Remove the pot from the heat, remove and discard the coffee filter or cheesecloth, and let the artichokes cool in the oil to room temperature. Drain the artichokes in a colander, reserving the oil. Remove and discard the onion, garlic, and lemon. Store the artichokes in the oil and transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week. Bring the artichokes to room temperature and drain before using them.

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Trim tops of artichokes just to choke.
• Slice garlic into slivers and insert 1/2 of amount amongst leaves and sprinkle rest in bottom of pot.
• Place prepared artichokes in pot just large enough to hold.
• Pour 1/4 cup each olive oil and white wine over artichokes.
• Sprinkle chopped parsley and thyme over artichokes.
• Pour chicken broth and water over chokes and top each with 1 tablespoon of butter.
• Salt and pepper top of each choke and cover pot.
• Simmer chokes until tender (approximately 30-45 minutes).
• Serve the remaining sauce in bottom of pot as dipping sauce.
• Add a little more water if necessary should the liquid evaporate too much.
• NOTES: I remove chokes after cooking.
• The artichokes are much more tasty should you put them refrigerator in braising sauce for a day-- better in two days or more.
• Also ideal to serve hollandaise made with braising sauce.
• I sometimes remove the choke before placing in fridge and use the cavity for the hollandaise.

EASY BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Fill a medium bowl with water and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon in the bowl, tossing in the lemon halves as well. Rinse each artichoke and trim 1/2-inch off of the stalk. Trim 1-inch off the top of each artichoke.
• Cut each artichoke in half, from stalk to tip, and remove the choke with a spoon or paring knife. Remove the tough outer leaves and trim the outside of the stalk with a paring knife. Add the prepped artichokes to the bowl of lemon water to keep them from browning while they are cooking.
• Slice the remaining lemon. In a baking dish large enough to place the artichokes in 1 even layer, place the slices in the dish to form a bed for the artichokes. In the center of each artichoke, add a garlic half and drizzle with half the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place cut side down on top of the lemon slices, holding the garlic clove in half as you turn them.
• Pour the chicken stock around the sides, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of stock should be in the bottom of the baking dish.
• Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the tops of the artichokes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and firmly seal with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven until fork-tender and the leaves peel off easily, about 1 hour.