Oven Braised Lemon Garlic Artichokes


Each year at the end of April beautiful plump fresh artichokes hit the markets and my heart skips a beat as I eagerly load my basket with globes of this vibrant green thistle vegetable. My favorite artichoke recipe is one that I make only once or twice a year, first, because the season is so short here in the northeast and two, because it can be a bit time consuming. So for the third time that had I arrived home with close to a dozen artichokes this year I sought a simpler recipe.
Oven braised artichokes saved the day as the preparations required only cleaning of the artichokes and to toss all ingredients onto a baking sheet. After stripping off the tough outer leaves, and chopping off the thorny tips, the artichoke halves steam in an aromatic broth of lemon juice, garlic, herbs, and white wine. The results are delicious served warm or chilled, and even better when served with a crisp sauvignon blanc.


If you are intimidated by cleaning artichokes Magic Spice has created an excellent tutorial aptly titled Taming the Artichoke.

Oven Braised Artichokes with Garlic and Thyme
From Gourmande in the Kitchen
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Peel from one of the lemons
  • ¼ cup good quality white wine or water
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 small garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
  • 4 large artichokes
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. In a large roasting pan, combine all the ingredients except the artichokes.
  3. Pull off and discard the thick outer leaves of the artichokes by bending them back and pulling them down toward the stem. Remove leaves that are dark green, but do not remove leaves that are green at the top and yellow on the bottom.
  4. Snip or chop off the tops of the leaves at the point where the green and yellow come together and trim around the base of the artichoke heart to smooth the sides and peel the stem.
  5. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the fuzzy choke with a small spoon. As each artichoke heart half is completed, add to the pan with the braising liquid, turning them to coat completely and prevent browning.
  6. Cover the pan with a lid or parchment lined aluminum foil and cook until the hearts are tender when pierced with a knife, 30 to 40 minutes.
  7. Remove the pan from the oven, uncover, and let the artichokes cool in the braising liquid.
  8. Garnish with a chopped parsley, serve warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled.
Related recipes: 
Artichoke Hearts Sauteed in Lemon Parsley Sauce
Artichoke Hearts with Sun-dried Tomatoes Pasta 

33 comments:

Belinda @zomppa said...

Those are gorgeous!! Stunning pieces of art...what a way to impress!

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

I love the idea of braising artichokes! I remember spending HOURS on artichoke recipes and eventually I gave up. Thanks for a great solution!

From the Kitchen said...

Visually beautiful, I can only imagine how good this recipe must be. It makes me, once again, tip my hat to the first person to eat an artichoke. How persistent that diner must have been.

Have a great day.

Best,
Bonnie

Esme said...

Oh these look good-Happy Mother's Day.

About Last Weekend said...

Think I might try this tonight - I love artichokes but am always worried I won't cook them right. Before I arrived in CA I had never really heard of people serving them.

Claudia said...

Artichoke season is not over yet. Going to be doing this - love the delicate flavorings. Can't get enough of thistles!

The Duo Dishes said...

We both love artichokes. They're just so good. Especially with a creamy sauce! That's probably the part we can't do without.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I need to tame a few artichokes and recreate this dish in my own kitchen.

Barbara said...

What a beautiful recipe, Christine. We love artichokes and have been eating them for years, but I've never braised them.

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

These sound so delicious and you take beautiful pictures!

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

These artichokes sound delightful!

sally said...

Yum! Artichokes are my favorite, and this recipe looks fantastic!

Stephanie said...

I didn't know they could look so pretty:)

Sara McCarty said...

Oh, my husband is obsessed with artichokes! I might have to surprise him with this recipe - it looks amazing!

Delicious Dishings said...

These look amazing! I love artichokes but have never done anything with them besides steamed them. It's my goal to cook something more interesting with them this year.

Amy (Savory Moments) said...

These look delicious and quite pretty!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Artichokes have been a favorite here for a long time! This preparation sounds wonderful, Christine!

tasteofbeirut said...

I have been enjoying artichokes recently; thanks for a great recipe! Love the idea.

Chiara said...

These sound so delicious Christine, I love artichokes!

nancy at good food matters said...

I love the simplicity in preparation of this elegant dish. Artichokes are unlike anything else---there's always something celebratory in having them. Thanks, too, for posting the link to the tutorial on Magic Spice's blog--beautiful pictures.

Deana Sidney said...

I am with you about the season of the artichoke. I've had them once a week now for a few weeks and they have been magnificent. Even bit the bullet and got one of those pricy long stemmed babies... it was great.
Look forward to trying this recipe with this week's choke!!

bunkycooks said...

Christine,

It was such a pleasure to meet you in NYC. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us for lunch. You and Alex are adorable and I am so glad we finally had the chance to see each other in person. I hope to get to Philly some time soon, so I will let you know when we do.

We are huge fans of artichokes and love to prepare them simply by steaming and serve them with drawn butter. This recipe also looks like one we would enjoy, so I will have to give it a try while artichokes are abundant in the markets.

Hope to see you soon!

Gwen

Victoria said...

Looking good, Christine! This is definitely a fairly simple but delicious preparation for a vegetable that requires some finesse. Hope you and the family are doing well!

lisa is cooking said...

They look so pretty all lined up on the baking sheet. This makes me want to bring home more artichokes today! And, the sauvignon blanc sounds great.

Leah @ foodforthefresh said...

Artichoke recipe sans can/jar! Love it. Can't wait to try!

Velva said...

I do not have a lot of experience with artichokes. This looks delicious. When you braise your artichokes do you still eat them the same way by pulling the soft inside with your teeth?

Hope you have a great weekend.
Velva

Fresh Local and Best said...

Hi Velva, yes for the outer leaves you will have to eat the artichokes by pulling the soft inside, but once you get closer to the heart the leaves are so soft the entirety of it is edible as is the heart itself.

Magic of Spice said...

This is a way I have not prepared artichokes yet...so I have to bookmark this one :) I am like you and get such a thrill when they start flooding the markets! Great recipe, and thank you so much for the shout out Christine :)
Hope you had a wonderful Mothers Day!

Esi said...

I love artichokes, but so rarely cook with them. Thanks for the inspiration.

kale said...

I love the way they look lined up on the pan like that. Such a beautiful starter.

momto8blog said...

oh my goodness..this looks fabulous!! definitely a new recipe for me...thank you!!!
I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.

Kim said...

I absolutely adore artichokes and these look heavenly.

Jamie said...

Love artichokes and rarely make them now as a great side dish - I usually just toss them into a tagine. I love this delicious, tasty and easy way of making them. Now that my preferred smaller Violette artichokes are starting to appear on the marketplace I will be trying this one. Your latest few recipes are so perfect for light summer lunches!