All 'Choked Up

I have previously declared my great love for artichokes.  What I didn't mention is my other great love, browned butter.  This super-easy approach to making artichokes awesome involves both; it starts with a gentle braise in lemon juice (or white wine) and water (or broth) and finishes with a serving of browned butter and mashed garlic right in the cavity of the artichokes themselves.

Ok, so here's how you do it.  I make one artichoke at a time, since I'm single, but since most people don't just cook for one, I've written this out for four artichokes, but the photos are reflective of the sole artichoke I cook for myself (cue "All by Myself" and the Bridget Jones's Diary opening credits).

Ingredients:
4 artichokes
1 lemon or 1/2 c white wine
4 cloves of garlic
1-2 cups water (use filtered, if you can) or broth
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
Fine grain sea salt, to taste

Supplies:
Good kitchen knife and cutting board
Dutch oven or a pot with a lid
Citrus reamer

Click through for directions.

Start by cutting off the stem of the artichoke.

 Cut the artichoke in half.

 Cut the tips off the artichoke.

Use a spoon to scrape out the center (all the little hairs and spiky pink bits).

 Look at the mess you made.

Put the Dutch oven or pot on the burner, add the olive oil, and heat over medium heat until the oil is shimmering.  Meanwhile, peel the garlic cloves and cut the ends off.  When the olive oil is ready, place the artichokes in the pot, cut-side down, and add the garlic cloves.

You want them to get brown, as shown.  Well, I want them to get brown, so that's how this recipe works.  I flipped it over to show you, and while I was taking the photo, the outer leaves got a little brown, too, but that's not a terrible thing, really, but make sure your artichokes are face down for the next step.

Use a citrus reamer to squeeze lemon juice into the pot.  I had a Meyer lemon on hand, but your usual lemon is good, too.  If you are using white wine instead of lemon, add it here.  

Allow the lemon juice or wine to bubble for a bit, then add the water, and a pinch of salt.  Turn up the heat to bring liquid to a boil.

Turn down the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut your butter into chunks, and place in a small pot over low heat.  The butter will melt, and once it does, you need to stir it and keep an eye on it.  It will get brown before you know it, and if you're not watching it, it will burn.  The goal is to caramelize the milk solids.  The butter will start to smell nutty, and will turn a golden brown color.  Immediately remove from the heat.

The butter and the artichokes should be done around the same time.  Pierce the artichoke with a fork - it should be soft.  Remove from the pot and put on a plate.

Take the garlic cloves from the pot and add to the butter.  Sprinkle with a little salt, and then smash them into the butter with a fork.

Spoon this mixture into the cavity of each artichoke half.

To eat, pull the outer leaves off and dip the base of them into the well of garlic and butter, and then scrape off the flesh.  Work your way to the inner leaves, then eat the heart.  It gets messy toward the end, but it's pretty dang good.

If you're wondering what to do with the braising liquid, you could reduce it and add a a few pats of butter to make a silky sauce to use for dipping, instead of the browned butter, but since I haven't tried it (though I super wish I had thought of it before now), don't take my word for it.