Today we’re going to talk about one of my favorite foods in the world. Whenever people ask me what’s the food that I could eat over and over, if I could just choose one food, that would be globe artichokes; fresh, whole, steamed artichokes with a bit of feta cheese dip.
I love to take the whole green artichoke, cut off the top of the leaves where it’s spiky, cut off a little bit of the stem, and then put them with the stem down in my steamer. They steam for about 45 minutes, and then they’re beautifully soft. Then you pull off each leaf, scrape it on your teeth, and eat the inside of it. Then you start to slice off the little pieces of the heart to eat. The flavor is just incredible – there’s nothing like it. Artichokes are a unique vegetable. They’re beautiful, they’re fresh, and they just taste so good.
I’ve always loved artichokes, ever since we lived in California and I was introduced to them. Sometimes we dip them in garlic butter, but just the flavor of the artichoke leaf is amazing. If you’ve never tried an artichoke, I encourage you to try them. You can steam them in a pot with a bit of water and the lid on, and there are many pre-cooked and canned ones you can buy. You can buy jars of artichokes in oil or sometimes in brine, and then you just drain them. Inside, you’ll usually find the heart, and you can just chop that up and add it to things like salads and pizza.
So, we’re going to talk about the benefits of artichokes, what you can use them in, and all of those things. The globe artichoke is actually a thistle. It comes from the Mediterranean region, and it’s cultivated for its edible flower – the bud of the flower; it’s harvested before the flowers bloom. What we eat is the fleshy base of the leaves and the tender heart.
It’s native to the Mediterranean area, maybe coming from Sicily, and it’s been cultivated since ancient times. The Greeks and the Romans prized artichokes for their use in food, and for medicinal uses. They were introduced to the United States in the 19th century by immigrants from France, Spain, and Italy. These days California remains the main producer for the US. The “artichoke capital of the world” is Castroville, so no wonder I was introduced to them in California. The artichokes there were huge and wonderful.
Thinking about the actual anatomy of the bud; the outer leaves are tough, but as I said, you can scrape the inside with your teeth once they’re cooked. The heart is the tender, prized portion at the bottom. There’s a little part inside which is inedible – it’s fibrous and a bit spiky. That’s called the choke. The stem is also edible, so you’ll leave a little bit of it on when you steam the artichoke. Then you can slice off parts of the stem and eat them. They’re similar to the heart in flavor.
Artichokes are very nutrient dense, which is fabulous – they’re like a superfood. They’ve got a whole lot of different minerals and vitamins, and they support liver health. They help regulate cholesterol. They aid digestion, and support gut health. They help with blood pressure and blood sugar. They have polyphenols, which are anti-inflammatory. Isn’t that awesome? There are a lot of benefits. There’s about seven grams per medium artichoke, and more like ten in a big one.
They also contain inulin, which is a prebiotic fiber that feeds the gut and supports digestive health. They’re excellent for fiber. They’ve got good vitamin K, folate, and vitamin C. They’ve got great minerals like magnesium, potassium, and iron, and they’ve got antioxidants.
They’re also called liver tonics in traditional medicine – they can help stimulate bile production, which helps fat digestion, so it’s good to have an artichoke as an appetizer on each plate. They actually help the liver a lot. If you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, they can help with that. They can help to lower the liver enzyme markers, and generally just improve the health of the liver.
Then, as I said, the potassium and the magnesium really help with blood pressure regulation and relaxing the blood vessels. The fiber helps with gut health and all the implications of that, as well as with blood sugar regulation. The antioxidants will help by lowering inflammation.
Some of the nutrients can be lost in cooking – the vitamin C and the folate a little bit, but the minerals and the vitamins A and K and the fiber will all remain, and there’s still a good amount of vitamin C, et cetera, left after cooking. The best way to cook them is steaming, as the boiling can lead to some water soluble nutrient loss.
So, as I said, you can steam them or boil them, and then serve them whole with butter or a feta preparation where you mash the feta and add a little bit of water. You could also use something like aioli or a vinaigrette that you like. Whatever kind of flavor you enjoy with it is great as a dip.
They can also be grilled or roasted, which adds a smoky flavor, though they may not be quite as tender. They can be stuffed with breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, et cetera.
The hearts can be used in so many ways – salads, pizzas, pastas, dips, et cetera. The canned ones are great for quick use in a recipe. They’re often packed in oil or brine, and you can just rinse them off and slice them up.
Here are some fun facts about artichokes. Marilyn Monroe was crowned the first artichoke queen in 1948. This was an honorary title, part of a publicity campaign to increase interest in artichokes in Castroville, California. The world’s largest artichoke sculpture is also in Castroville, California.
Artichokes contain cynarin, and that makes water taste sweet after eating the artichokes, so if you like your water sweet, have some after you eat an artichoke.
When you’re using fresh artichokes, the classic way to prepare them is to trim them, steam them, and then serve them with melted butter, hollandaise, or garlic aioli. Then you eat them by pulling off the leaves, scraping the flesh with your teeth, and then eating the heart.
If you want them grilled, you can steam them, halve them, remove the choke, brush them with olive oil, and then grill them. You steam it partially, and then grill it so that it’s nice and soft. Roasting them whole adds a deep caramelized flavor. Stuffed artichokes means you fill the center and between the leaves with breadcrumbs or Parmesan, et cetera, and bake it.
If you want fried artichoke hearts, quarter the heart and soak it in lemon water, then fry in olive oil and sprinkle it with salt. That’s delicious. You can make a spinach artichoke dip by combining your artichoke hearts with cream cheese, mozzarella, garlic, et cetera, and steamed spinach. In salads, you can use the cold, tinned artichokes. They go well with olives, cherry tomatoes, feta, et cetera.
You can also toss the artichoke hearts with pasta. They’re very yummy. You can put them on pizza with sundried tomatoes, olives, or pesto, et cetera. You can use them in sandwiches or wraps with your chicken or Mediterranean vegetables. You can put them as a topping on your bruschetta or crostini. You can also chop them and mix them into your eggs with goats’ cheese or feta and fresh herbs.
Artichoke soup is delicious with potatoes, leeks, some stock, and a bit of cream, and you can blend in your artichokes. You would cook the potatoes, artichokes, leeks, and et cetera together, and then blend them. You can put artichokes in a stew with chicken or lamb – very yummy. For artichoke hummus, you blend your tender artichokes with chickpeas, lemon, garlic, et cetera, and some pine nuts or cashews to thicken it up. You can even put chopped artichoke hearts into a creamy risotto with Parmesan and lemon zest.
So, there are lots of yummy ways to use artichokes, but I think the best way to get to know the flavor and enjoy them is to try the steamed whole version. They’re seasonal, and are generally in season from the spring to the early summer. I’m looking forward to that season! We get tons of fresh artichokes then. Often for a lunch meal, I’ll just have three whole artichokes. You get a bit of protein from the dairy that you dip it in.
So, artichokes are a real super food, and a fabulous ingredient. It’s great to have a few tins of them in your cupboard or in your pantry to use when you’d like, to add some good flavor or to add something interesting to your salad. I also like to sometimes chop some tender artichokes, add some sun dried tomatoes, and then marinade that in olive oil and some kind of vinegar, maybe balsamic. Add a bit of salt, and then just leave them in the fridge. Then whenever you feel like a snack, you can just take out your glass dish full of artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. Give them a shake so that they’re well coated with the oil, and then just eat a few. It’s really good.
I hope you’re inspired about artichokes. If you have any unique ways of eating them; unusual things you do with the flavors, things that you add as dip, or anything like that, I really would love to hear from you. You can email me at Karyn@FamilyFoodForMoms.com
