The Best Way to Cook Artichokes Is Also the Easiest

We're partnering with Miele to help you Cook Smarter with simple yet delicious recipes where the technique makes all the difference. Here, we're sharing the simplest method for making the most of artichoke season: steaming!

Growing up, there were only a few dishes that really said “special occasion” to me. Angel food cake, which my mom would stuff with mint chocolate chip ice cream for birthdays and anniversaries, was definitely one of them. Lobsters were another, because cooking and breaking them down felt like such an event. And would you be surprised to hear that the third was a steamed vegetable—artichokes, no less?

While steamed broccoli or green beans were practically a nightly affair, my mom only steamed artichokes a few times a year, during the spring and summer months when they were abundant at the market and it was warm enough to sit outside on the deck. My sister and I would gleefully tear ours apart, dipping each leaf in butter and scraping the meat off with our teeth, while my dad grilled up the rest of our dinner.

I remember my parents being vaguely surprised by how much we liked them, with their imposing thorny blossoms and somewhat sophisticated flavor profile. But with instructions that included “use your hands and dip it in the butter,” how could we not be excited to dig in?

For years, I probably made artichokes about as often as my mom did—if that. And whenever I did, it was usually a dish that involved painstakingly trimming each artichoke down to the heart, which would leave me swearing them off for another year. But this spring and summer, I'm changing things up. I’ve reacquainted myself with the steamed artichoke, and decided to make this couldn’t-be-easier dish my go-to dinner party appetizer for the season...or even my go-to lazy dinner for one, alongside a simple salad or some leftover roast chicken.

If, like me, you normally think of artichokes as fussy to prepare, or maybe have never steamed them before, allow me to shed some light on how simple the process is for steaming:

First, trim the stem slightly. I like to leave them a bit long for presentation, but if you want yours to sit upright for serving trim them to about 1/2 inch. Then, tear off the hard, woody outermost leaves from the base.

Next up, cut the top quarter of the artichoke completely off with a very sharp knife. After that, trim the thorns off each remaining leaf with kitchen shears. Some people like to cut the artichokes in half at this stage and remove the fuzzy choke by scraping it out with a melon baller or a spoon, which you can totally do if you like; I might suggest this if you’re serving a big meal and expect each person to only want half of an artichoke instead of a whole one. But in an effort to keep things on the simpler side, I prefer to leave them whole and let folks deal with the choke when they get there.

Finally—this step is important!—rub each cut surface with a halved lemon or squeeze the whole thing with lemon juice to be safe. This will keep the artichoke from darkening due to oxidation. (You might see some recipes call for keeping your trimmed artichokes in lemon water; this does the exact same thing.) To minimize browning, I’ll squeeze each artichoke with lemon as I go instead of waiting until they’re all trimmed.

When you’re ready to steam, you can prepare a steamer basket in a large pot with a few inches of water, hack a steamer with some handy household items, or use the settings on your steam oven for an even easier route (if you happen to be one of the lucky ducks to have a combi-steam oven at home).

Instead of just simple melted butter, I up the special occasion-feel for this childhood favorite by preparing a few homemade dipping sauces. At the moment, classic garlic aioli is the reigning favorite, but all kinds of sauces work great, like compound herb butters, vinaigrettes, or pesto mayonnaise.

But for those lazy nights when it’s just me, good ol' Hellmann’s plus a squeeze of lemon and a grated clove of garlic (or three, since I’m by myself) is just as good.

What's your favorite way to serve artichokes? Tell us in the comments below!

We've partnered with Miele to highlight our new go-to dinner party appetizer for summer: steamed artichokes with a garlicky lemon aioli. Ready to make getting them on the table even faster and easier? Miele's combi-steam ovens can do it all for you with the touch of a button. And for expertly steamed results every time, don't forget to use their handy perforated tray. Convenient and easy to use, Miele's steam technology and perforated tray team up for fuss-free cooking so simple, you might just ditch your pots and pans.