Our friends, Jim and Barb, always make the most beautiful antipasto spreads.  When in season, they include baby artichokes.  For the first time, our local grocer carried the baby artichokes so I bought some and convinced Jim to teach me how to make them.  You still need to do some pretty heavy trimming before cooking but it’s much easier than trimming the larger artichokes.

I’m highlighting how Jim makes them but now that I understand the technique, I could see how you can make many substitutions:  lemon for vinegar, herbs for the garlic salt, etc.  I’m looking forward to making them again to try the different variations.

The beautiful ceramic in this picture was made by my nephew, Mike Michurski.  He does wonders with his pottery.

Baby Artichokes

18 baby artichokes (our grocery store has them in packages of 9)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbls. garlic salt
1 Tbls. pepper

To trim the artichokes:  Cut the stem off, cut the top off leaving only half of the outer leaves, take off about half of the outer leaves and you have what will probably be edible when cooked.  Place in lemon water as you finish up each artichoke so that they won’t brown.

Place the trimmed artichokes into a large pot and pour water over them to cover about 4 inches.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Place something over the chokes in the pan so that they are completely submerged during the cooking process - we used a strainer that fit the pot.

Bring to a simmer and cook for anywhere from 35 to 60 minutes depending on the artichoke and how much you trim off.  You can test them by sticking a knife into them - it should feel like a cooked potato. 

You can serve them right away or store them in their cooking liquid in the refrigerator until your are ready to enjoy them.

Tags: antipasto, antipasto plate, Appetizers, artichokes