Tastes of Home: Old Bay Artichokes

By Hayden Tarr

Today’s post will be a recipe for steamed artichokes with an OLD BAY™ butter sauce. Whenever they are in season, there are a lot of different recipes you can make with artichokes. One of the easiest and simplest ways is by steaming them and covering them in a spicy butter sauce. This is a simple dish that I used to make all the time in the US with my sister, where artichokes are readily available all year round. In Florence, produce is much more seasonal causing artichokes to become a rare occurrence in the grocery stores. When I saw these artichokes on the shelf, I knew immediately what I was going to make, and there is a very simple list of ingredients required. 

Preparation:

1. First start by heating up a pot of water, fill the bottom until there are around two inches of water in the pot
2. Prepare your artichokes by cutting off any stems and the top inch of the artichoke. Trim back the tops of the remaining leaves of the artichoke as well. In order to prevent the artichoke from oxidizing, it is recommended to use the juice of half a lemon mixed with two cups of water to coat the cut sections of the artichoke
3. You will then want to slice the artichokes in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the inner purple leaves and the choke as they are unpleasant to consume
4. Add the half of the lemon that was squeezed, the lemon water, two cloves of garlic, and bay leaves into the boiling water
5. Place your steamer above the pot and steam your artichokes until you can put a knife through the center with ease. 
6. While the artichoke steams, heat your butter with medium heat in a pan until melted. Add your chopped rosemary leaves and the three remaining cloves of sliced garlic to the butter and allow it to infuse for 20 minutes; once infused, take off heat and keep covered
7. In a small bowl mix together OLD BAY™, grated parmesan cheese , and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Once this is made into a paste, pour in the infused butter making sure no chunks or garlic rosemary go into the sauce
8. Mix these together until fully combined and put to the side. The sauce may thicken over time if it is left out but you can simply warm it up over the stove for a minute. 
9. Once your artichokes are steamed through, remove them from the steamer and put to the side to cool for five minutes
10. Once cooled, reheat the pan used to make the infused butter and lightly brown the cut side of the artichoke. This will give the artichoke heart a nice crisp layer before eating and will also allow it to absorb the flavor from the remaining butter in the pan
11. Once the cut side is browned, plate the artichokes face side up and pour the OLD BAY™ butter sauce into the center of each artichoke
12. Serve with a lemon wedge and enjoy!