Fire-Roasted Artichokes with Chipotle Aioli

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Oooooh yeah. It's artichoke season. Green, spiny, scaly, perhaps slightly mysterious – and so fun (and delicious) to eat.

A plain old artichoke can be slightly intimidating to the uninitiated. But once you know the drill, they're truly a cinch to cook up, and just as easy to eat. 

I love the article entitled How To Cook and Eat an Artichoke over on Simply Recipes. It's a terrific, informative piece. I usually use her cooking method – throwing a bay leaf, clove of garlic, and slice of lemon into the steaming water. 

The other day, I decided to take it a step further – slap a few on the BBQ, serve it up with a spicy mayo concoction, and see what happens.

Artichoke magic, that's what happens.

Wine check/perfect pairing: Maryhill Winery's Rose of Sangiovese. We first tried this when we were at their winery last summer, on a 100 degree day. We bought a bottle of this lovely stuff, light and slightly sweet, perfect for the hot weather, and drank it under their big grapevine-covered deck overlooking the Columbia River. Along with the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we brought. Hey, I never claimed we were the classiest couple in town!

(It's inexpensive, too – generally under $10 a bottle.)

I really do love Maryhill wines. But I've digressed plenty – back to the artichokes.

Fire-Roasted Artichokes are a company-worthy dish that would be low-maintenance to churn out (steam the 'chokes earlier in the day, then throw them on the BBQ when it's time to eat), and totally impressive. Or just make a few for yourself. I'm willing to bet you'll find yourself wanting 'em again and again. (Have I mentioned my stomach is growling?)

Here's the recipe!

Fire-Roasted Artichokes with Chipotle Aioli

Artichoke recipe adapted from this one for Claim Jumper's Fire-Roasted Artichoke

Fire-Roasted Artichokes – Ingredients:

• Artichokes
• One bay leaf
• One garlic clove
• One slice of lemon
• Melted butter for brushing

Chipotle Aioli – Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I love the reduced fat olive-oil based stuff from Kraft)
• 1 teaspoon canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeds removed (unless you want heat galore) and chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce (from the can of chipotles)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Fire-Roasted Artichokes – Instructions:

Prepare and steam the artichokes:

1. Clip the tips of the artichoke leaves. They're pokey; who needs it! I, for one, haven't got time for the pain.

   

2. Lop off the top of the artichoke – about 3/4 of an inch worth.

   

3. Cut off the stem, so that the base is flat.
4. Remove just the very bottommost leaves.

   

5. Rinse well under cold water.

   

6. Bring about two inches of water, along with the bay leaf, lemon slice, and garlic clove, to a boil.
7. Set the artichokes bottom down in the water, and cover with lid.

   

8. Steam the artichokes for about 30 – 40 minutes, until tender.
9. Remove from water and allow to cool.

   

10. With a very sharp knife, slice each steamed artichoke in half.

    

11. With a spoon, scrape out the fuzzy middle above the heart.

    

     
    

12. Brush with melted butter.

    

Barbecue those bad boys:

1. Lay cut-side down on a hot grill – medium heat, about 325 – 350 degrees.

   

2. Cook for about 5 – 6 minutes, until there are nice brown grill lines on it.
   
3. Serve with chipotle mayo, or garlic butter, or lemon butter, or even mayo and soy sauce mixed together. I have yet to try this, but my friend Vix was raving about it just yesterday. I'll likely be trying it soon and reporting back.

Chipotle Aioli – Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together well.

   

2. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, ideally, so the flavors blend well.

(I forgot to take a photo of the final product, so here again is a photo with the artichokes and the chipotle aioli in the background.)

Dang. Now I'm hungry.