Artichokes are curious veggies. The spiny, fist-sized delicacy is actually a thistle flower bud before it blooms. The leaves or scales covering the veggie’s heart and quite hard and sharp, but the more you get close to the artichoke’s heart, the more tender the leaves become.

What we eat from an artichoke is its heart, or more appropriately, the fleshy base or lower portion of the flower which is silken smooth and meaty. Most leaves, all attached to the heart, have a small piece of heart or flesh, so you can nib them while opening your way to the real treasure inside. Isn’t that lovely?

What’s the Best Way to Cook Artichokes?

Concept of vegetarian food. Chopped artichokes fried in oil served on white plate

Before cooking artichokes, you must trim and clean them. Start by cutting the hardest part of the base or stem and the first layer of leaves. Then, with a pair of sharp scissors, trim the rest of the leaves to remove their sharp pointy tip.

Artichokes might have some dirt between the leaves, so the next step is rinsing them under a stream of cold water while trying to remove any dirt. Once clean, artichokes are ready to be cooked.

You don’t want to boil artichokes since they absorb a lot of water. Instead, steam them whole. Even if you’re going to roast or broil the artichokes, you should steam them first. They’re ready in about 30 minutes, depending on their size.

How to Serve Artichokes?

Vegetarian Dip with Salsa Chips

The traditional way of enjoying an artichoke is serving it as-is, with a creamy dip on the side. Your guests will have a great time removing the leaves one at a time and nibbling into the tiny bites of flesh. Once you get to the core, remove the fibrous layer of underdeveloped florets called a ‘beard’ and enjoy the soft-as-butter artichoke heart.

If you want to skip the leaf removal part, steam the artichokes and cut them lengthwise to expose the heart. Then drizzle them with a vinaigrette or your favourite dressing!