I can tell we’re specializing here in dishes that look really cook and impressive but in fact are easy to through together. In fact Monday’s dinner was simple from top to bottom, from the braised scallops to the blueberry cheesecake ice cream (stay tuned for those recipes).
The roasted baby artichokes were the dish that took the most prep, but even then, the actual making is simple. And with the instructions in my trusty copy of Saveur (which had a great feature on artichokes a while back), it’s a cinch to prep the baby artichokes. Basically for each baby artichoke, you trim about a third off the top and discard, and then you peel away the dark green leaves (they snap off) until you’re left with the pale green inner leaves (see the Saveur article for better pictures than I can take… photography is not yet my strength). For this recipe, you then cut them in half and rub the cut parts with lemon to prevent browning (the browning is unattractive but really it doesn’t make them taste bad, at least if you use them right away).
In this case, I added a “twist” by dressing the artichokes with a couple of squeezes of fresh lemon juice, and enhanced the roasted nutty flavor by substituting hazelnut oil where I normally might have used olive oil. And, after roasting covered with some garlic, I took the top off for about the last 5-10 minutes to give these little babies a little chance to get brown for a little of that “grilled” flavor. I eat the garlic too, and like the way it mellows, although it’s not exactly like roasted garlic.
Roasted Baby Artichokes with a Nutty Twist
- ~12 baby artichokes
- 8-10 peeled cloves of garlic
- lemon juice
- hazelnut oil (use olive oil if unavailable)
- salt
- pepper
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prep the artichokes as above or following the Saveur instructions. Cut them in half and combine in a bowl with the garlic. Squeeze the lemon a couple of time over the bowl, and drizzle in hazelnut oil (if you must have a measurement, say 1/3 cup). Sprinkle with a couple of pinches of salt and grind the pepper on top; toss together.
Pour into a baking or casserole dish and cover with foil. Heat in the oven about 30 minutes (until the artichokes are tender). Remove the foil and stir up the artichokes. Replace uncovered into the oven for about 5-10 minutes more, till they acquire a little of a brown grilled look.
