Easy Steamed Artichokes with a Caper Dressing

Last month we said goodbye to our beloved French home La Cachette (the hiding place), for the last time. We were fortunate to gather with old friends and share a 4 course set lunch prepared from fresh local ingredients  – only the type available in France – for 12 Euro / $16. Of course the prix fixe included local wine and an espresso.

Our friends Claude and Claudia from the village (he being French, she being English) have an enviable “working” garden in which fresh eggs are laid daily, globe artichokes picked in the late Spring, mixed berries gathered over the Summer and kiwi fruit plucked from overhead vines in December. The terroir in the area is fertile, and with a bit of coaxing it’s possible to grow almost anything. 

It was commonplace for us to entertain at lunchtime, since downing tools and making time to eat as the midday bell or siren sounds is hugely civilized and doesn’t require the same formality of having guests for dinner. The prettiest and most thoughtful hostess gift we received for such an occasion came from Claude and Claudia’s garden. A bunch of violet blue flowering artichokes. Seasonal, local and wholly appropriate for a rustic French home.

As some of the oldest foods known to man, I’m grateful for the discovery that the inner most nugget of a globe artichoke is good for eating. Once the lilac blooms appear on the crown of the artichoke, it becomes almost inedible, since it’s shifted its energy from growing an edible heart to ensuring it can reproduce by going to seed.

May is artichoke season and cooking them in your slow cooker makes this super simple. The results are just as good as boiling and steaming, with no need to hover over the pan.

Prep Time 5 minutes Cooking Time 6 hrs LOW 2-3 hrs HIGH Servings 2-4

Ingredients
4 medium or 2 large Globe artichokes, washed
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1tbsp capers, chopped

Lie the artichoke on it’s side. Using a sharp knife, cut the stem off the bottom and the top off the leaves. Put them stem down into your slow cooker.

Rub the cut leaves with 1 tbsp of the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the bottom of your slow cooker, cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.

In a small serving bowl combine the remaining 1 tbsp of lemon juice with the sour cream, mayonnaise and capers.

Serve the artichoke whole, drizzled with olive oil and with the dressing on the side.

To eat – peel away each outer leaf one by one and dip into the dressing, strip the flesh from each indicidual leaf with your teeth. The slow unwrapping will lead you to the prize inside. When you find the choke, remove the soft strands and eat the flesh which is left.

Zen Moment

“Eating an artichoke is like getting to know someone really well.”
– Willi Hastings