Artichokes: Braised, Fried, and Delicious

by Caitlin Collins

When selecting an artichoke at the supermarket, you'll want to select those with firm and compacted heads. Once the leaves begin fraying out, they're overripe. They also shouldn't be turning brown. Brightly colored artichokes are best; they should not be mushy around the stem. 

Daytime cook Max preps the artichokes during the day. "Artichokes are kind of goblin-ish little thistle devil plants," says Max. "They are difficult to work with and oxidize really quickly; though it doesn't affect taste, it changes the way they look. You get prettier food if you work really fast and keep them immersed in lemon water."

First, the inedible outer leaves are removed until the inner core is reached, at which point they are tossed into a very lemony water (about one lemon per artichoke) to preserve the color.

Once all the artichokes are brought to this point, the next step is to trim around the heart and stem, giving them a dunk in the lemon water between steps so they don't turn brown. The inedible tops are cut in half, and Max pauses to bring a large pan to very high heat. 

"As I'm cutting [the artichokes] in half, I'll want to make sure that I get my pan screaming, angry hot," advises Max. "Artichokes are really dense and they're cold, so you need to preheat your pan to a hotter temperature than you'll actually need."

After the stems are trimmed, Max takes a vegetable peeler to the stem to smooth it out. Then each artichoke is split down the middle, and after a dunk in the lemon water, he removes the choke. Holding the back of the artichoke in his palm, Max scoops out the choke with a spoon to expose a natural cavity. Artichokes are spiny and sharp, so be careful!

About half a cup of olive oil is put in the hot pan (for six artichokes), and then the artichokes are thrown in. Then thyme, garlic, and chilis are stirred in until there's a bit of sear around the artichokes and they start to brown. Half a bottle of wine is then added to the pan with salt, ground black pepper, and water. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until fully cooked.

Max pours the artichokes into a pan, and when it's time for service, Nick Apt on sautee station will flour an artichoke and deep-fry it to accompany the lamb cheeks entree.