I went to the market the other day
and came home with some delights
like this
and this celery root.
If celery root were a dog, it would be a pug.
I also came home with artichokes. Artichokes from Bretagne (a region famous for them) are huge!
I can barely squeeze three in the pot. Now, if you’re going to prepare artichokes, you’re going to have to get over your fear of using a pressure cooker, that it will explode or something. It simply won’t. That’s what that scary shrieking steam valve is for!
Tracie prepares her artichokes in a microwave, which I learned on her post about comfort food, but I’ve never tried that and somehow think they wouldn’t be done properly. But maybe I’m making much ado about nothing and it’s the easier and simpler way.
In any case, I think she’s pretty cool to have artichokes as a comfort food.
Add a full glass of water
and make sure the valve is down because without the pressure, it’s just a cooker. (Speaking of which, you could probably cook artichokes in a covered pot if you used more water and about doubled the cooking time, but now is your time to make the foray into pressure cooking, isn’t it?
We all need a little more pressure in our lives. Heh heh.
These artichokes are huge, like I said, and won’t be done unless they’re cooked a full 45 minutes. I turn down the heat only slightly when I hear the steam whistle. You can reduce the time with smaller artichokes, but if you’re cooking more than one, give them at least a half hour.
Then you need to let the steam out. With this kind of pressure cooker, I found that you can burn your hands if you push the pink lever back up to release the steam. So I stick a vegetable peeler right in the source and let it go to town.
I really should have polished that lid, shouldn’t I have?
Open, twist the lid, and voila!
The artichokes have shrunk in the cooking. I take one of the leaves out of the middle of the top artichoke and if comes out easily your artichokes are done. If you have to tug at it, it’s worth cooking it more or you won’t get to enjoy the heart as much.
To prepare the sauce, we’re going for the ole standby of dijon mustard. Once you taste this, you will never go back to melted butter again.
Take a pretty little dish and put a heaping tablespoon of dijon mustard
and four overflowing tablespoons of olive oil. (When I said only three tablespoons for the salad dressing, I didn’t wish to shock you, but the French often use four!) I would definitely go with 4 for the artichokes.
Aw, why not add just a splash of balsamic for some sweetness (but don’t overdo it).
Okay, my artichoke is flopping about on the plate, which is less pretty but will taste much better because it means it’s well cooked.
And you’ll need another large plate for the dressing and the leaves.
Take a leaf, dip …
and scrape the artichoke flesh off with your teeth (for lack of a more elegant way of expressing it).
Bunny ears! Want to see that dippin’ again? Miam miam!
You eat all the large leaves that way and as you work your way inwards, the leaves get much more delicate.
Pretty soon, you can pinch the top of the leaves all together and remove them like a hat.
And then you’re left with the hair.
See? Even the trash tray of discarded leaves looks good when you serve artichokes.
Back to the hair. You don’t want to eat it, so stick your fork underneath and see how easily the entire chunk comes up with your fork (if your artichoke is well done).
Scalp that baby and you’re left with the heart.
Ah, the heart. The heart. Flip it over to remove any traces of stem, because although it tastes just as good, it’s too stringy to eat.
Cut it in pieces and scoop up that remaining dressing with it.
You have been amply rewarded for your hard labor.
this was such an awesome post!!! All the gorgeous food shots and then the artichoke tutorial- yay!!! I ADORE artichokes, but since my roots are Italian, I typically stuff the leaves with a breadcrumb Parmesan mixture and then steam it. I am totally going to try your dressing next time though!
This post inspires me to finally get a pressure cooker!!! I suffer through the covered pot method to make them.
Those artichokes are HUGE!! I’m so jealous that you live near such incredible artichokes.
I’m going to try your sauce. It sounds delicious.
Now, after looking at all those amazing pictures of artichokes, I have to go wash the drool off of my keyboard and make a trip to the grocery store!
Now I’ve got an artichoke craving!
Oh….! All of a sudden it’s 1984…I’m in Brittany on my first year of a 5 year French exchange and, natch, we’re eating artichokes. But dipped in butter! But your dip sounds much more tasty…
Thanks for the gastronomic trip down memory lane. YUM! I can remember how it felt to scrape out those leaves with my teeth.
Oh, those artichokes look divine! And that sauce!? Yummy.
I have never had much success making artichokes before – either I scratch up my hands on the sharp ends or I don’t steam them long enough and they end up too tough to eat. I don’t have a pressure cooker, but those photos might just be enough to inspire me to get one!
Ooooo . . . I long to spend a day in your kitchen. Ok, maybe two days. Well, why stop there? How about three . . . or four . . . or . . .
😉
Artichokes are one of my favorite things on the planet.
I love your pressure cooker way of cooking them and I might actually try my hand at these. Because of the work involved, without a pressure cooker, I don’t make them at home. I only order them at one of my favorite restaurants. Roasted artichoke. It is heavenly. Thanks for the instruction and the beautiful photos. And yes, that heart is the absolute best part.
This little American/French girl grew up eating artichokes just like yours with a very similar sauce. My French Mom says that Dijon you find here in the US is NOT AT ALL like the French Dijon so BEWARE! Make sure it’s made in France. My hubby doesn’t like artichokes so I’ll have to make dinner for 1! (sans enfants)
Yum, maybe I will buy some even though no one else in the house likes them. We live near the artichoke capital of the world, Watsonville, CA, so we see them in the grocery store a lot. I have jars of the bottled ones, but they don’t taste as good as the fresh.
I’m definitely going to try your dijon dip recipe! We are actually trying to grow artichokes here, though it will be a long process (they produce on some kind of 2-year cycle)!
When I was growing up, we always had artichokes stuffed with breadcrumbs and parmesan like TJ above. And there was a “polite” way to eat them (scraping with your teeth like you show) and a rude way (put the whole leaf in your mouth and chew it til all the goodness was out, then spit out the ugly fibrous remainder at the edge of your plate). My dad would let us know if our dinner situation required that we eat them the polite way. 🙂
Can we still be friends if I admit I do not own a pressure cooker?
Still, I think I know what to ask for this Christmas.
(along with a stocking full of Dijon, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.)
Is it the most wonderful time of the year, yet?
I’m hungry.
You have the most beautiful blog I’ve ever seen! I love all things French, just came back from Paris last month and I miss it already.
Your wedding photos are gorgeous. It’s so nice to find you and I look forward to reading more!
Thank you dear Ameena! I’m so touched. 🙂
I love artichokes, but have never cooked one in my life. I usually just buy the hearts in a jar. (Don’t judge me. :))
Your dip looks so good!
your pictures and tutorials are so gorgeous, i am almost smell these treats.
Awesome post 🙂
So that’s how you make artichokes! Come by my blog to see something special.
I can honestly say I had no idea how to cook an artichoke! (even though I do love them) Who knew pics of artichoke could be so beautiful? 🙂
A great tutorial!
Artichokes are so intimidating. Thanks for demystifying it.
Thanks for visiting Jackie. 🙂
I love the direction your most recent posts have taken, the photos are amazing. I took a ton of photos of artichoke fields during our two weeks in Brittany. I live an hour from artichoke country myself, but ours are SO expensive, I was amazed at the prices at the marches in Brittany – super cheap (as they should be) but we don’t get that here, we pay triple! I do so love them and we eat them all the time, such a great source of fiber.