Artichokes, these classic delicacies can be a little daunting to prepare at home but trust me, it’s so much easier than you think.
If anyone tells you this, they are wildly exaggerating. This is what I read on numerous blogs and the pep talk I gave myself before I began my virgin voyage. I watched countless videos on how to prep, serve, and eat the little suckers, and in the end, it was me that choked. Artichokes are funky, and you can’t fake the funk.
Artichokes are one of those odd vegetables that are often considered luxurious, not because they’re particularly difficult to find or grow, but because they’re so gosh-darn confusing. I’ve eaten my weight in jarred and canned artichokes but never a whole one. With extra time on my hands, I wanted to check off another culinary item on my bucket list. This nothing ventured, nothing gained approach to cooking sometimes comes with epic fails.
Even once you figure out how to cook them, there’s the question of which bits you can actually eat, how to get the meat off the leaves, and what you can serve them with – the list of questions is seemingly endless. In reality, the difficulty seems to come from the lack of popular knowledge about preparing artichokes and not from any real trickiness to their preparation itself. According to tutorials, with a little elbow grease and a lot of lemons, anyone can prepare gorgeous, fresh artichokes right in their own kitchen. Let me tell you, there were not enough lemons in the world that could have saved mine.
Did you know that artichokes are members of the thistle family, and the portion of the plant that is eaten is in fact a flower bud that has yet to bloom? I guess that explains why they were such a thorn in my side. Though artichokes are deserving of their difficult reputation as delicacies, these little beauties also contain the highest levels of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, as well as, other compounds of any known vegetable vital to maintaining healthy organ function.
Okie Dokie Artichokie, while your funkiness beat me this time, I still think you are kind of groovy. As long as you come in a jar, I plan on eating my heart out of you tonight.
Crispy & Creamy Sideway Potatoes with Artichoke Hearts
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large leek (white and green parts) halved and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled
- 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 2 (12 ounces) jars of Reese Quartered Marinated Artichoke Hearts
- 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 2 cups whipping cream
- Fresh chives for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Make sure to wash the leeks really well before cutting and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking with a tablespoon of butter.
- In a medium skillet on medium, heat oil. Add leeks, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme; cook, stirring until garlic is fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.
- Using a mandolin or sharp knife, cut potatoes into thin slices (about 1/4 inch thick) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Standing potato slices on edge, stack them in horizontal rows in a prepared baking dish, slipping 1 artichoke slice between potato slices every 1 inch or so. Sprinkle with leek mixture and Gruyère, pressing to ensure some of the cheese gets between potato layers. Drizzle cream over top.
- Tightly cover the dish with foil, place it on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake until potatoes are tender in the center and the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chives.
Tip: Slipping a baking sheet under the pan ensures that you won’t have any cheesy drips on the oven floor to clean up. Plus, the sheet supports the heavy baking dish, making it safer to get out of the oven.
