Grilled Artichokes & Stems with Tarragon Garlic Butter, a edible extension of the heart
Grilled Artichoke Hearts
Yesterdays trip to our local farm stand was better than we ever expected. They always have the most beautiful field of artichokes growing and when the artichokes go to flower, a sea of purple buds decorate the normally stark field lying alongside the major freeway.
We were fortunate that they still had beautiful, tender artichokes for sale. At a whopping 75 cents a head, these farm fresh artichokes were the best deal in town. It’s times like these that we can afford to eat artichokes till we drop!
Earlier that morning, the farmers kept the long stems on the artichokes and they were gorgeous displays in the corner of the stand. It was hard to decide if the artichokes should be cooked or be left as a floral decoration. The farm-stand lady grabbed the artichokes we requested and told us to eat the stems because they’re edible extensions of the heart.
We were amazed and enlightened to hear such information! eat the grilled artichoke heart and stem? they’re tender extensions of the heart? that makes total sense! how do you prepare them? After showering her with a series of curious artichoke stem questions, she was equally enthusiastic to share how she prepares her stems.
With a quick little tutorial from the stand-lady, we so excited to be buying artichokes with the long stems and to cook with them! The stems on the artichokes were perfect tender specimens to be extensions of the heart.
Depending on how young the artichokes are, you may or not want to peel the artichoke stems. It isn’t always necessary, but with slightly older stems, peeling makes them a little better.
For grilled artichoke hearts and stems, unless they are super tender, we will boil them first and then grill them just to slightly char and add a nice smokey flavor. In between boiling and grilling, the ‘chokes and stems will get marinated, then that marinade is later used as part of the garlic butter. No waste, all delicious flavor!
Grilled Artichokes and Stems with Garlic Tarragon Butter
Ingredients
- 6 medium Artichokes with Stems
- 1/4 cup Sea Salt (for boiling water)
- 2 small Lemons
- 3/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup preferred Vinegar (we'll usually use Rice Wine Vinegar, but any vinegar will work)
- 4 cloves Garlic crushed or minced, divided
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted Butter , cut into 1/2" chunks
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt , for sauce
- 2 Tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons minced Fresh Tarragon
- fresh cracked Black Pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large stock pot 3/4 filled with water and the 1/4 cup of salt to a boil. While the water heats, trim the artichokes. Cut off the stems, and cut them into manageable lengths (usually in half). Peel the outer layer of the stems and rub with half of a lemon. Trim the top third off of the artichokes, then trim the tips of the remaining leaves.
- Slice the remaining 1 1/2 lemons into large wedges. Put the lemon wedges, artichokes and stems in the boiling water. Place a few layers of paper towels over the artichokes to weigh them down, sinking them deeper in the water. Boil for 20-30 minutes or until the heart is tender when pierced and an outer leaf pulls off easily and the meat is tender.
- Drain and allow to cool upside down in a colander until easy to handle. Slice stems in half. Cut artichokes in half and remove choke with a spoon.
- Combine olive oil, vinegar, and about 1/3 of the garlic in a plastic bag large enough to marinate the artichokes and stems. Add artichokes and stems to the marinate, toss to coat, and allow to marinate 30 minutes to an hour.
- Heat a grill set up for direct heat. Remove artichokes and stems from marinade (reserving the marinade to make sauce) and grill artichokes and stems until lightly charred, about 5 minutes.
- Add remaining marinade to a sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Add remaining 2/3 of garlic and cook until garlic is soft (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Whisk in butter chunks until completely melted. Add sea salt, lemon juice, tarragon, and black pepper, whisking to combine. Serve immediately with grill artichokes and stems.
I absolutely adore grilled artichokes. HOLY YUM.
Your photos are gorgeous!
Your artichokes look delicious! Great recipe.
I love artichokes too, right down to the stalks!
Thank you so much for this post. I have a “hedge ” of artichokes growing in my front yard and after doing the usual steamed artichoke for the first few I harvested, I realized I should trim more of the stalk. Now I know exactly what to do, and how to do it. Brilliant!
BTW, Your photographs are flat out lovely.
Gorgeous! I have artichokes in my kitchen now – destined for a tagine – this must go next on my to-do list!
i love artichokes, but never grilled them. thanks for the idea. i also never heard of eating the stems. i’d like to try it. thanks for sharing!
So perfectly lovely. Those long stems are breathtaking.
What a wonderful post, as usual! Beautiful pics and amazing Artichokes! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
They are just so gorgeous! I can’t wait to have artichokes back in season. What a great idea to use the stems too!
One of our farmer friends is growing a big crop of artichokes after trying them out last year. That was a tiny harvest and shared most of it with me and Skip. This was the first time a stalk came still attached and I decided it’s actually the BEST part, IMHO. It’s all edible—none of those tough parts I hate to toss because it feels wasteful, and stalks have all the flavor of the prized cap—maybe more. What I didn’t know until seeing these (gorgeous as always) photos is the stalks can actually be longer than what Greg gave us. This year I’m asking for total stalkage! Give it up, baby! I want it ALL!
That’s a steal for artichokes! They sound delicious as ever.
I so wish I were in California right now for the artichokes alone. Great images, as always!
As a tender extension of my heart, I thank you and the stand-lady for this wholesome farm to table advice. Can’t wait to try!
Your pictures are unbelievable! I LOVE your Spring Fling idea! I’m going to the farmers market Sat and trying out a few of your recipes. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve never cooked artichokes before. I’ve only ever had them canned. Maybe this is the time to finally buy a whole one and try cooking it.
At our house we always have a “spring fling” with artichokes. Sadly they are not as beautiful as they are straight from the farms in California, but we love them all the same!
Love artichokes! It has been awhile since I have gotten true fresh ones and played around with them, lately I have been a little lazy and usually get canned artichokes 🙁 I will have to give the fresh ones a try again here soon! They look so good!
I was just talking about grilled artichokes and how good they would be… I love this. Those artichokes look so delicious!
Looks delicious! I love me some asparagus.
Your artichokes look delicious – great idea to make use of the stems.
I can’t believe I’ve never tried to make artichoke stems! So excited to try now 🙂
I have a few artichoke plants myself – this year I will try taking the stems! Can I make a request for a picture of the field of artichokes in bloom when the time comes? I always have to let a few go to seed as they are just so amazing – like prehistoric fireworks! So many colours in one plant!
Interesting…I’ve never seen anybody cook the stems before!
Hi Todd and Diane! I have never seen artichokes with stems like that, how extraordinary. I love the seasons of New England, but we miss out on a lot of the wonderful produce of So Cal. And we live with long, dreary springs (like this week) with temps still under 50 degrees…
Sally
Your pictures are gorgeous. I grew up in an Italian family where artichokes are king!
What a delicious post!
There is a really good video of Melissa Clark cleaning artichokes on the NYTimes Dining section today.
I’m always jealous of you California folk for your beautiful produce and luscious stone fruits. The only time I ever get a really delicious apricot is if I head out of Dodge.
What a treat for you! Just reading your post brought back a flood of memories when visiting my Grandparents who lived between San Francisco and Monterey. Driving through the sprawling artichoke frields at this time of year was so intriguing. Such odd little visual things, artichokes. There is nothing like getting them fresh and local. Thank you for letting me ride along and enjoy your beautiful images as always!
This meal looks wonderful and EVERY blog I have gone to, well tons, in the past 24 hrs have all made artichokes or baby chokes. It’s helping me get over my fear of ruining them, which is normal for me and artichokes. And eggplant. Those are two veggies that I just do not do well with….so thank you for the BEAUTIFUL inspiration (as usual).
🙂
I love artichokes! and love your great idea. You guys rock.
This sounds superb!
I’ve never grilled artichoke, but it makes perfect sense. Now I’m thinking about splitting a lobster in two and grilling it as well. Garlic butter for all!
I so wish I could find artichokes here, but I haven’t had them in YEARS. Breaks my heart, because they are so incredibly tasty. I love the way this meal looks, it’s simple and rustic and flavor packed. Everything that I wish I was having today for dinner.
I love Artichokes. I’ve been eating them sine I was just a wee one. My Nonna made a kick ass artichoke omelet that was outta this world. My Mom still makes it for us.
I’m so jealous of your abundance of artichokes! Thanks for the tip about eating the stems. It makes sense since that’s the part of the cardoon (a close relative of the artichoke) that gets eaten. Never thought about grilling them. I still just steam them in my bamboo steamer and eat them a leaf at a time, dunked in drawn butter. Mmmmmmmmmm……