Easy to make, full of big and fresh flavors, and always a crowd favorite.
The Most Amazing Roasted Artichokes
Artichokes are by far and away Barclay’s favorite food. After a long history of steaming our artichokes, I began feeling the need for a little variety in our artichoke game happening here in Spain. So I challenged Barc to experiment with some various methods and seasonings for roasted artichokes. And now, dozens of alcachofas asadas later, we’ve both agreed that he’s landed upon a winner of a recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 fresh artichokes
- 2 large fresh lemons, juiced
- 2 tbsp olive oil (or melted butter)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly-chopped
- fresh rosemary (plus additional fresh thyme, oregano, or sage, if you’d like)
- coarse sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Directions
- Heat oven to 400°F.
- Use a knife to slice off the bottom 1/2-inch (or more, if you’d like) of the artichoke stems, and the top 1 inch of the artichoke globes (the leaves on top). Remove and discard any small leaves toward the bottoms of the stems. Rinse the artichokes with water.
- Slice the artichokes in half vertically. Use a spoon to scoop out the fuzzy “choke” in the middle of the artichoke. Then use kitchen shears to trim about 1/4/-inch off the pointy tips of each of the artichoke leaves (so that they don’t poke you when you eat them). Rub a lemon wedge all over the entire surface of each artichoke half, to prevent browning.
- Place the artichoke halves in a baking dish or on a baking sheet cut-side-up. Brush the cut sides of the artichokes evenly with the olive oil. Then fill the cavities evenly with the garlic, followed by a few small sprigs of the fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Flip the artichokes over, using the herbs to help hold in the garlic, so that they are cut-side-down. Brush the tops of the artichokes with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Then remove and cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 25-35 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender and the leaves pull off easily.
- Place the tray on a cooling rack. Carefully remove, discard the herbs (or stir them into your dipping sauce for extra flavor), and drizzle the artichokes with extra lemon juice.
- Serve the roasted artichokes warm with your desired dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce Ideas:
Lemony Melted Butter Sauce: I make mine with about 1 part melted butter, 1 part freshly-squeezed lemon juice, 1 part water, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Blender Hollandaise Sauce: This version is super easy.
- Tzaziki Sauce: For a Mediterranean twist.
- Pesto: Rich and delicious. Feel free to mix in some Greek yogurt to make it creamy.
- Mayo or Aioli: Always a win.