Holiday Feast: Rosemary and Garlic Butter Baked Artichokes
The second recipe in our Holiday Feast Series is our Rosemary and Garlic Butter Baked Artichokes. We take our sides and salads very seriously, and it's important to have a good mix of cold, hot, vegetable and fruit sides and salads that accompany your glazed ham, roasted turkey, or roasted chicken to perfection. We've always loved artichokes and get them from our local deli to put in our summer salads, but this Christmas we wanted to try baking them in the oven. Naturally we knew they should be oozing in rosemary garlicky buttery goodness with lots of sea salt and cracked pepper.
Now the great thing about artichokes is that you can find them at Coles; they always seem to be hiding near the rhubarb and eggplant. We used to be intimidated by artichokes but once you've had a go at prepping them, it's actually very easy! Read on for our ingredients, recipe and tips for the most buttery, flavourful baked artichokes you'll ever have. Merry Christmas!
Ingredients
3 whole fresh artichokes
4 tbsp butter, melted
6 garlic cloves, crushed and sliced roughly
Handful of fresh rosemary sprigs
Sea salt and cracked pepper, for seasoning
Lemon wedge, for seasoning
Method
The first thing you need to do is to prep the artichokes.
Cut the stem off and cut the top off, at least an inch depending on how tall the artichokes are.
Pick off and throw away any of the lowest leaves near the stem. Don't be afraid to go hard. The first time we did this, we ended up with very brittle artichoke leaves, so pluck off more than you think you need to.
Trim off the pointy tips of the leaves with scissors, this is a really important step!
Slice the artichokes in half and using a spoon, hollow out the "choke" in the middle of each artichoke. It's so surprising what's inside, it looks like blonde hair! Get rid of it all and don't be afraid to hollow it all out. Squeeze Lemond juice into the hollowed out space to help avoid browning, but do note, the inside will go slightly brown as it reacts with the air.
Preheat your oven to 150C.
Brush the artichoke cut side up wth the melted butter and rest in a baking dish or on a lined sheet pan.
Fill the inside of the artichokes with the garlic and sprigs of fresh rosemary. Pour some melted butter inside the cavities as well. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper.
Turn the artichokes over, and be careful not to lose any of that delicious rosemary and garlic filling.
Brush the artichoke leaves wth the melted butter and season with more sea salt and cracked pepper.
Cover the baking tray or sheet pan with aluminium foil, making sure you seal tight around the edges as we want to "steam" the artichokes initially.
Place the artichokes into the oven and cook until tender. This can take anywhere between 30 minutes to 60 minutes depending on how the size of the artichokes. The artichokes will be ready to go when the leaves pull off really easily and a knife can be easily inserted in the base of the stem.
When they are ready, take the aluminium foil off and let the artichokes bake for a further 10 minutes.
Drizzle the artichokes with more lemon juice and serve immediately. Enjoy!
