I could eat artichokes for days on end and not get tired of them! Why is this? And who was the first person to pick up and artichoke and say, “this looks really delicious, I think I’ll eat it”? How did they know to steam it and just eat the ends? I don’t know the answer to this but at this point, it’s not totally important. I’ll thank them later! As for now, I will just continue to enjoy and appreciate them! Have you ever tried grilling your artichoke? If not, you have got to try it…like now. Or tomorrow if you are too busy at the moment. Either way, you will be so happy once you try our favorite grilled artichokes with lemon caper vinaigrette. They are ridiculously good! And, I will also mention, this recipe is much healthier to eat than your traditional butter or mayo based dipping sauces.
Before you begin, you need to prep the artichoke. This may seem like an overwhelming task but really, it’s not. I’m gonna share a couple little secrets with you to make this process really simple. Just start by rinsing your artichoke. Lay it on it’s side and using either a very sharp knife, or a serated one like I did…I just like the way it grips the leaves when cutting. Just cut off the top. Then, I like to use kitchen scissors to cut the pointy ends off each of the leaves. This actually goes pretty quickly so don’t let it prevent you from making these! You don’t want to skip this part though because these guys have some pretty sharp ends. After you cut the ends, use a vegetable peeler to get the woody parts of the stems off. Just a few clean swipes and you are good to go. Place them in a steamer basket and bring water to a boil. Cook for about 25-30 minutes until tender. You can pierce them with a knife to ensure they are done. Remove from steam and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. While they are steaming, you can get started on the lemon caper sauce.
Using a sharp knife, cut the artichokes in half. With a spoon, scrape out the furry choke in the center. Then drizzle with a little olive oil.
Place those guys on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Drizzle them with the delicious lemon caper sauce…be sure to reserve extra sauce for dipping!
- 2 large artichokes
- 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp capers
- 2 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp honey
- 1 clove chopped garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- Clean the artichokes by rinsing with cold water. Using a serrated knife, cut off tops and sharp edges. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off the outer layer of the stem and pull off the smaller petals near the base, these are usually more tough in texture.
- Place artichokes in a steamer basket and bring water to a boil. Cover and simmer artichokes for about 25 - 30 minutes. Artichokes are done when you can easily pierce a knife through the base with no resistance.
- Remove from the stovetop and allow to cool for roughly 5 minutes. Once cooled, use a sharp knife to cut artichokes in half. Using a spoon, remove the center fur and translucent leaves.
- Drizzle cut artichokes with olive oil and cook on medium hot grill for about 5 minutes. Flip over and grill about 3-4 more minutes.
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender to combine.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the grilled artichokes just before serving. Place leftover sauce in a small bowl for dipping.