If you haven't tried an artichoke you are missing a taste treat. They have a light, slightly nutty flavor, they are an honest green vegetable, of which we all need to eat more, and they are fun to eat. Allow one artichoke for each diner. They are eaten by pulling off the leaves, dipping the leaf in a little mayonaise, and putting the broad end into the mouth and scraping off the delicious edible part with your teeth. The bulk of the artichoke leaf is stringy fiber too tough to eat. You discard it. BTW, never put artichoke leaves down a disposal, they will clog your drain but good. After you eat all the leaves, you still have the artichoke heart to eat. Cut the furry looking growth off the top of the heart, those are baby leaves waiting to grow, and entirely too tough and prickly for humans to eat.
Cooking is straightforward, put 'em in a pot, with a couple of inches of water on the bottom and steam them for 40 minutes or so. Bring the water to a boil on high heat and then cut back to medium, enough heat to keep the water bubbling gently. Cut the prickly top of the artichoke off, leaving a round spot maybe the size of a silver dollar. Before steaming them, drizzle some olive oil over the leaves and tuck some slivers of garlic inbetween to looser leaves.
One artichoke is enough to make a light meal, say lunch. And they go well with anything to make a bigger meal.
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