Ever since we experienced the Italian artichoke season, we’ve been a bit obsessed with finding long-stemmed artichokes and replicating all of the ways Italians cook them. You should be able to find artichokes year-round, but the peak of the season is March through May, and then again in October. We recently found smaller artichokes with beautiful long stems. We grabbed bag and filled it to the brim. It wasn’t until we got home that we decided to try braising them. You can do a lot with these – put them in pasta, make a salad, or just eat them as-is. We did the latter. They were so delicious, we ate them all for dinner with a crisp white wine.
You’ll start by trimming your artichokes. Get our step-by-step instructions here, and use this specific peeler that has become our go-to tool for artichoke trimming.
We like to use a sauté pan like this one or a large, low-sided pot like this depending on the size of the artichokes and the amount that we’re making.
- Artichokes
- Olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- White wine
- Water or vegetable stock
- Lemon
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Grana Padano cheese, for finishing
- Parsley, finely chopped, for finishing
- Clean the artichokes according to the instructions here.
- Heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of your pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until soft, then pour in a splash of white wine.
- Add the artichokes to the pan, along with enough water or vegetable stock to cover the artichokes halfway, along with some salt and pepper.
- Cover the pan and cook over medium-low heat for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the artichoke. You can tell when they are done when you can easily pierce the base of the artichoke with a fork.
- Remove from the pan and serve with lemon, fresh parsley, and freshly grated Grana Padano cheese.