Baked Artichokes in Soy Sauce Vinaigrette

Artichokes can be enjoyed in many different ways - steamed, boiled, baked, grilled. While not my personal favorite, when in season, we do enjoy the bounty. I like it baked usually, but steamed and then marinated well in favorite dressing is good too, especially if the artichokes are quite tender to begin with.

As I noted earlier, it can be a bit tedious to eat the artichokes, but if it is indeed a favorite item, that point is moot, I am sure :)

These how-to-prepare videos are quite helpful, and I followed the baked artichokes method listed there for the general methodology, which I am not reproducing here.

The marinade/dressing can be simple:

soy sauce + sambal oelek + minced garlic for a few

balsamic vinegar + olive oil + salt for a few

raspberry red wine vinegar + agave nectar + finely grated ginger + cayenne pepper powder for a few

I vary this each time to keep it interesting, and to use what's handy. Just drizzle some, wrap in foil and bake as directed. Or, steam as directed, drizzle some dressing, allow to marinate for an hour or two (even up to overnight in the fridge) and enjoy scraping the tasty flesh off the petals.

The hairy choke part can be removed easily with a spoon once it is fully cooked. The tender heart is my favorite part of the artichokes.

Along with some fresh-from-the-garden spinach salad and cous-cous patties, these baked artichokes can be a fantastic feast.

Steamed Baby Artichoke with Balsamic Vinaigrette

I've been on the fence about artichokes.

I like canned artichoke hearts a lot - as toppings on homemade pizza, or in salads and paninis. As to fresh artichokes, it just seems like it is more work to eat it than to cook it... however, these purple baby artichokes at the Farmer's market were begging to be given another chance in my kitchen and the results were quite satisfactory :)

The few times I've had whole large green artichoke steamed and served with melted garlic butter, it seemed like I was discarding more than ingesting the leaves, at least the outer spiky fibrous leaves.

And it reminded me of eating murungakai (Moringa oleifera, aka drumstick) when I was little - a long spiky vegetable usually served in sambars in South India: murungakai has soft flesh with a thick ridged outer skin which, even after hours of cooking is never soft enough to swallow. So, one has to scrape the inner pulp with one's teeth and discard the skin.

While this variety is a mature artichoke (nothing much baby about it except its size), it seemed to not have as many harsh and thorny outer leaves, and that was one primary reason I wanted to give it another try.

Boiling usually leeches out nutrients and color, so, I liked to steam it. I used the steamer that is part of my rice cooker, but, I am sure idli cooker or even microwave would be fine to steam these. And rather than melted butter sauce, I just drizzled some home-made balsamic vinaigrette.

Ingredients
whole baby artichokes

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp finely chopped spring onions

Preparation

1. Trim the stem and outer leaves, cut the tip off a bit and steam the artichokes till a toothpick inserted at the bottom goes through without resistance
2. Prepare the vinaigrette, fan out the leaves a bit, drizzle over the steamed artichoke and serve fresh, or allow to marinate for about 15-20 minutes before serving

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This spinach artichoke dip is another of our quick fixes for snacks on weekend afternoons and since it is such a simple recipe I guess I didn't get around to posting it so far... and, it is versatile enough to be adjusted to taste - add as much or as little cheese, more chilies if needed. And, most of the ingredients are out of a box - simply blend together, bake in the oven for a bit and serve sizzling hot.

I like to have it with rustic* tortilla chips or pita chips. But, any ready-made tortilla chips would be fine too...
*rustic, in my case, simply means I tore up some slightly old (high-fiber, low-carb) tortillas or pita pockets, sprayed them with some cooking spray and toasted them in the toaster oven till crisp :)

Ingredients
½ block silken tofu
1 cup chopped frozen spinach, cooked per package and drained
3-4 pickled jalapeno rings
½ cup artichoke hearts
½ cup grated mozzarella and colby jack cheese
salt to taste
chopped spring onions and cilantro for garnish (optional)

Preparation
Simply blend all but the cheese, stir the cheese in (reserve some for topping), bake in a 400°F oven for about 8-10 minutes till cheese bubbles. Stir well before serving.

Piping hot dip from the oven on a cold wet afternoon with freshly crisped tortilla or pita chips, and some cardamom chai... mmmm... simple pleasures...