1966 WDEC - Artichoke Halves, Greek Style

Much more promising and less wasteful than the gut, slice and fry approach.

Artichoke Halves, Greek Style
6 large artichokes
4 cups water
3 lemons
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cut stems off artichokes. Remove bottom leaves and with scissors trim off brown thorny tips of all remaining leaves. Cut off tops and halve each artichoke. Soak in the water and juice of 2 of the lemons.

Meanwhile, sprinkle flour over onion and saute in olive oil until lightly browned. Arrange artichoke halves, cut side up, in roasting pan or large skillet. Add salt and pepper and juice of remaining lemon to onion and oil, and pour over artichokes. Add small amount of water, about 1/2 cup. Cover and simmer over low heat until artichokes are tender. Serve warm or cold.

Cooking Notes: I like artichoke stems so did not trim mine flush. Picture above shows my degree of trimming, before I removed the choke, which, although not directly called for in the recipe I think this is essential both because it would be very messy to do at the table and so that some of the sauce can collect in the hollow of the artichoke and help keep it moist while it's cooking and flavor it on the plate. I used only one artichoke but because my skillet was large I only halved the onion/oil mix and kept the lemon juice and water the same. Also, being low on olive oil, I used half butter/half olive oil. The artichokes steamed 40 minutes and then rested until ready to be served.

Eating Notes: Nice as a side, these would be fine as a light luncheon main so long as your guests didn't mind frequently needing a napkin while eating the flesh off the outer leaves, since everything was coated with the olive oil mix. Once the fully-edible inside leaves were reached, a fork did the trick nicely. Despite the relative mess, I liked having the entire artichoke coated with the sauce rather than steaming it plain and dipping the leaves in. The flavors had gently permeated the vegetable, and the aroma was more pleasing and pervasive than with a stand-alone dipping sauce, even though the artichokes were served cooled to only a slightly above-room-temperature warmth. So, a winner.