Braised Baby Purple Artichokes with Olive Oil and Wine: These lovelies are almost entirely edible because there is no hairy choke inside to remove.
Yes, it happened again this year. I’m in love. Artichoke season is upon us and the most brilliant artichokes are available, if you are lucky enough to find them. These gorgeous Baby Purple Fiesole Artichokes were sent to me by Frieda’s Produce again this spring. I gushed about them last year – along with my new lens… that I still love, too! I couldn’t stop staring at them. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them. It happened again this year.
These lovelies aren’t just a pretty artichoke. They are scrumptious, too. Last year I roasted them and soaked them with tequila. This year I braised them in olive oil and white wine.
O-M-G.
The prep work is like zero. There’s no hairy choke inside to remove, so that means more yummy artichoke to munch on. And the flavor reminds the hubby and me of eggplant. Only better.
Nutty, meaty, delicious.
Seriously good.
I’m so in love….
Braised Baby Purple Artichokes
You are in for a treat if you can get ahold of baby artichokes. They are almost entirely edible because there is no hairy choke inside to remove. Recipe by Laura Bashar of Family Spice
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Fiesole Baby Purple Artichokes
- 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, ground
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 TBS parsley, Italian, chopped
Directions:
- Wash and pat dry:
- 1 lb Fiesole Baby Purple Artichokes
- Trim the ends of each artichoke, remove the outer leaves and cut the artichokes in half.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add:
- 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- Place the artichokes in the oil, cut side down forming one layer and season with:
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, ground
- Cook the artichokes until the oil is bubbling and hot, about 5 minutes, then add:
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- Continue cooking for 3 more minutes, then reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and cook until artichokes are fork tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve artichokes warm or at room temperature. Garnish with:
- 2 TBS parsley, Italian , chopped
Prep Time:
Yield: Serves 4
Cook Time:
Disclosure: Frieda’s Produce was kind enough to send me these beautiful artichokes to play with as they are celebrating with their April Artichoke Festival! I was not paid to write this post. The opinions I expressed here are my own. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t blog about it!
These artichokes are beatiful! We’ve been loving artichokes also this week, and now I’m excited to try baby artichokes. Thanks for the lovely post, and gorgeous photos!
Beautiful artichokes, I love that you braised them!
These artichokes look beautiful!! I’ve never seen them purple before in Miami.. Only other time i saw them purple was in Italy
Mr. & Mrs. P
It looks like you had a lot of fun with the artichokes and your photos are lovely. They certainly look pretty enough to put in a vase instead of a bunch of flowers.
Oh, have never seen them purple and so small! And I am an artichoke fiend!!! Love your recipe – now have about 4-5 months to wait and i’ll hound every grower at every farmers’ market 🙂 !
I’ve been having loads of fun with artichokes, too! I don’t have any lovely purple ones, though – they look terrific! I’ll have to look for some. Good stuff – thanks.
Absolutely gorgeous! I’ve never had baby purple artichokes before, but I’m amazed by this beauty!!! I’d love to taste this. I love the “get recipe” icon on the picture. It’s human nature to click when it’s prompted (and I did. ;)).
Definitely trying your recipe. Although I had eaten these babies in restaurants, I’ve never prepared them myself.
I am always fascinated with baby purple artichokes at the farmer’s market but didn’t know what to do with them. I am excited to try your recipe.
Laura I’m definitely going to give these a try. Purple is a favorite color of my picky eater – I wonder if I could convince her to eat purple food?!?
Very colorful. Love this post!
No hairy choke and tastes like eggplant – I must try! Gorgeous shots, Laura 🙂
This says spring to me. Have you tried deep frying them? They bloom like a rose in the oil and are so delicious. GREG