Artichoke Gratin
Woh, woh, woh. How was my last Throwback Thursday post over a month ago? Where has the time gone? How is it almost February? I have a million other questions, but I won’t bother you with the rest of them.
Most of the questions involve time and how I’m always running out of it. Always and forever. But that isn’t any fun to talk about, so let’s discuss this artichoke gratin instead.
[I also have to give a quick shout out to Lindsay for creating the new Throwback Thursday picture logo!]
As you probably may or may not already know, one of the main reasons I started the Throwback Thursday series back in August was to give myself a reason to get in the kitchen, get out of my comfort zone, cook and learn how to make dishes that I probably would never have dreamed up on my own–or simply, have gotten neglected over the years.
Nothing is more fun than taking a step back in time–and cooking dishes that were the “hottest new thing” back in the day. Butter, gelatin, and casseroles ruled the world.
But if I’m being completely honest, I’ve sort of neglected my initial goal somewhere along the way. More than once, I’ve chosen a dish that I’m more familiar with, or one that simply sounded really delicious at the time (my taste buds and food cravings wear the pants around here).
With that said, today’s recipe is definitely a change of pace. Artichokes are natural beauties. And, unfortunately, they don’t get nearly enough attention in my kitchen.
It’s rare that I’ll go out of my way and buy fresh artichokes. Especially if it involves trimming them down to the hearts. But oh my goodness, it is so, so worth the hassle every now and then.
I’m going to be completely honest. Trimming artichokes is a little finicky and takes some practice. But once you get the hang of it, the process goes fairly quickly. It’s a life skill worth having, trust me.
There are several different ways to trim artichoke hearts (depending on preference or preparation), but here are my recommendations:
- Set out a bowl of cold water (infused with the juice of one lemon) and one lemon half. As you are trimming the artichoke, rub the hearts with the lemon half–as they will oxidize and brown quickly once exposed to air.
- Remove the outer, tough leaves with your hands, until you reach the tender, paler softer leaves close to the center.
- Using a sharp pairing or serrated knife, cut off the top third of the artichoke and trim and peel the stem (leaving about an inch attached to the heart).
- Trim any other tough green sides from the base of the heart. Using a spoon or melon-baller, remove the hairy choke and inner thorny leaves. Remove the fuzzy layer immediately below this as well (it will brown very quickly). Place the hearts in lemon water, until ready to use.
Once the artichoke hearts have been trimmed, you simply sauté them in olive oil (infused with fresh garlic) over the stove, before sprinkling on capers, parsley, salt, pepper, and fresh breadcrumbs. This all goes into the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the artichoke hearts and breadcrumbs are golden brown. And just a little bit crispy.
Grab a fork. You’re going to want to eat them straight out of the pan. So good, guys.
Adapted heavily from the February 1985 issue of Gourmet magazine.
Artichoke Gratin
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 288 Total Fat: 19g Saturated Fat: 3g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 15g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 236mg Carbohydrates: 31g Fiber: 12g Sugar: 4g Protein: 7g
Love the new Throwback logo – looks awesome with your gorgeous new design! Also loving these artichokes! What a lovely combination of textures from unctuous yet crispy artichokes, to crunchy breadcrumbs … and then the piquant flavors of capers mixed with earthy artichokes and a little kick of garlic. My, oh, my – this is a winner! 😀
Umm…can I swap out my description for yours?! You described this dish perfectly 🙂 So glad you like the redesign!
Wow. This is fabulous! So unique!
So glad you like it!
Brian would love this. However, I’m still quivering thinking about how many artichokes I had to prepare at FCI in the restaurant…
Yeah, luckily I never had to do a ton in one sitting. Although I remember one of my chefs from school said that was ALL he did at his first restaurant job. Sounds pretty horrible 😉
I’m with Pippa! I love fresh artichokes, but after cleaning & prepping a million and one artichokes at FCI when we worked in L’Ecole and I can’t bring myself to do it anymore.
Haha!! I’m so glad I didn’t have to do a ton of them in school (or at the restaurant). That’s pretty much how I feel about tourneing anything–we did that for practically every meal.
The new logo is so cute! Totally makes throwback Thursday even more fun!
And the artichokes? Amazing! I have never actually prepared whole artichokes before, but you really make me want to try. These are beautiful!
Yay! So glad you like it!
It’s definitely not fast, but it’s worth it every once in a while! Have a great weekend Tieghan!
I love artichokes! Just steaming them whole and dipping in butter makes me happy. These look amazing and next on my to make artichoke recipe!
I love steaming them whole and dipping the leaves in a lemony-garlic yogurt sauce! So good. Thanks Liz!
Love throwback Thursdays! Artichokes are my favorite veggie, but I’m the same, it’s just SO much work to trim them, take the choke out and all that good stuff. BUT if you have the right dish it’s SO worth. THIS is worth it, so pretty and simple and ahhh, I love it.
Thanks so much Nicole! Yes—lots of work. Not for the faint of heart–but six artichokes wasn’t SO bad 😉
I love the new design! This dish is perfect for a light dinner! YUM
Thank you, thank you! 🙂
Oh how I love artichokes. Especially the hearts. Sometimes I power through eating all the leaves just so I can get to those tender hearts. This dish sounds delicious.
Haha–I do too!! When I steam them, that is. Thanks for the kind words, as always, Natalie!
This sounds and looks delicious — man, I love artichokes! But despite my adoration for them, I’ve never tried cooking ’em at home . . . but it sounds like I need to conquer that fear.
Yes! It’s fun to learn–there are some good videos out there too, if you want to check those out. Thanks Meg (also, thank you for the mention on your recent post–means a lot!)
Where there are artichokes I’m a happy girl. I love them. And this gratin it talking to me.
So glad it’s speaking to you 😉
I’ve had quite a few artichoke heart-ing failures, but you’ve given me the motivation to try, try again (and again…and maybe again). This gratin is beautiful!!
Haha–oh no!! Yes–you gotta do it every once in a while (definitely not every day or every week for that matter–but maybe a once in a year type event? 🙂 )
I love artichokes, a little but have always been worried about trimming them and getting them right! Being a little cheap, I think it is weird to go through all that work and get rid of 75% of the artichoke one buys before eating it! What about the yummy leaves? But I will give this a try! I have tried something like this with frozen artichoke hearts but it isn’t that good compared to the real thing! I may need a “private” lesson!
Mom! You are very cheap–especially for someone who bought the Cadillac of turkeys for Christmas 🙂 But yes, this wasn’t a cheap dish, haha. I was a little sad about the leaves too, but the hearts were so good.
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