Steamed Artichokes
“What’s the advantage to cooking artichokes in a slow cooker?” you might ask. The answer is that while the artichokes are cooking, you’ve bought yourself a big chunk of time to do other things while the chokes cook completely unattended. If you are like me, you may get no further than pulling the chokes out of the pot with tongs and sitting down to them with a nice serving of homemade garlic-tarragon mayo. But I’ve given a few other suggestions in case you get bored.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 2 to 3
Ingredients
Stuffing (optional)
Garlic-Tarragon Mayo
Preparation
Step 1
Trim the stems off the artichokes and strip off any extra leaves. Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut off a generous one-third at the top of each artichoke. This will remove most of the thorns and expose the center of the artichoke.
Step 2
Rinse the chokes thoroughly, then arrange them in the slow cooker insert (an oval-shaped cooker works best). Pour in the water, cover, and cook on low for about 6 hours, or until a fork easily pierces the stem end of the choke or a leaf can easily be pulled off.
Step 3
Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing or mayo.
Step 4
To make the stuffing, break up the bread slices and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the bread is in large crumbs. Add the parsley, garlic, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to taste and pulse until thoroughly mixed.
Step 5
To make the mayo, place the vinegar, egg, and mustard in the bowl of a food processor or a blender and mix thoroughly. With the machine running, drop in the garlic cloves, then slowly pour in the vegetable oil. Pouring the oil slowly is important to the process of thickening the mayo. When the mayo has thickened, drop in the tarragon and pulse just until thoroughly mixed in. (If you let the machine continue to run, you will have green mayo, which, in some cases, might be just the ticket.) Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Step 6
Carefully remove the artichokes from the water using tongs and invert them in a colander or strainer so that any excess water can drain out. Using a spoon or your fingers, pull out the fuzzy center choke of each artichoke, leaving a nice hole. (It is important to let the artichokes cool somewhat before attempting to remove the chokes so that you do not burn your fingers.)
Step 7
If you are using the stuffing, spoon some of the stuffing into each cavity. Spoon the mayo into small bowls for dipping.
Step 8
Serve warm or at room temperature. (Unstuffed artichokes can be eaten even cold.)
Note
Step 9
For some fun and entertainment at your next party, give several guests a large mortar and pestle and the ingredients for the mayo and let them make the mayo by hand. Put the vinegar, egg, mustard, and garlic in the mortar and smash it up. Incorporate the the vegetable oil a few drops at a time, pounding it in with the pestle, until the mayo is nice and thick. Be sure to keep their wineglasses full!
Suggested Beverage
Step 10
Artichokes are generally considered a difficult food to pair with wines. I think the fun would be to experiment and find out what, if anything, works. Put out some bottles of rosé, a chilled white or two (Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, or Grigio), perhaps a sparkling wine, and maybe even a red.
