Steamed Artichokes With Grainy Mustard And Bacon Dressing Recipes

STEAMED ARTICHOKES WITH GRAINY MUSTARD AND BACON DRESSING

Steps:

• Make an ice-water bath: Fill a bowl with ice and water; set aside. Trim artichokes; snap off tough outer leaves. Cut in half, and cut off top quarter of artichoke. Snip remaining leaf tips with scissors. Trim bottom of stem; using a vegetable peeler, peel off tough outer skin. Spread leaves to gain easier access to choke; scoop out choke with a melon baller. Squeeze some lemon juice onto heart; squeeze more lemon juice into the ice bath; add lemon halves and artichoke halves to ice-water bath while preparing the rest.
• Fill a saucepan large enough to accommodate all artichokes with 2 inches of water. Add salt, peppercorns, thyme, garlic, and 2 tablespoons olive oil; bring to a simmer. Add artichokes, stem end up; cover saucepan. Steam until tender, about 25 minutes. Leaves should pull off easily; heart should feel tender when pierced. Drain well. Cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, cook bacon over medium-low heat until bacon is brown and crisp and fat is rendered. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from saute pan, and set aside.
• Depending on the amount of bacon fat in the saute pan, add enough olive oil to make a total of 1/3 cup fat and oil. Add shallots, carrots, and celery, and cook until vegetables are soft and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in grainy mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Return bacon to saute pan. Arrange artichokes on serving platter. Spoon hot mixture into the cavity of each artichoke. Serve immediately.

STEAMED ARTICHOKES WITH MAYONNAISE-MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Place one to two inches of water into a large pot with a tight-fitting lid and add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and whole peppercorns to the water.
• Insert the steaming basket and place artichokes and trimmed stems inside the basket. If you don't have a steamer, it also works to place the artichokes directly into the water, bottoms down.
• With lid off, heat until water boils, then put lid on and turn heat down to low to maintain a simmer.
• Steam or simmer for 25-30 minutes or until a sharp knife can easily pierce bottoms of the artichokes near the stems. To be sure, test them all. Larger artichokes will take longer to cook. Remove hot artichokes from the pot with tongs.
• To make the sauce: Mix about one part of yellow mustard into six parts of good mayonnaise. The sauce should be light yellow and not taste like either mayonnaise or mustard, but like a new sauce all its own. Add more of either ingredient as needed to get the "new" sauce.

SIMPLE STEAMED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut stem from artichokes and discard, making sure the bottom of each artichoke is flat. Cut top 1 inch (or so) of the artichoke and discard. Snip the thorny ends from each artichoke leaf with a pair of kitchen scissors.
• Fill the bottom of a pot with a couple of inches of water, adding garlic, lemon juice, and bay leaf to the water. Place a steamer basket in the pot, making sure that the water does not flow over the bottom of the steamer basket.
• Place the artichokes in the basket, resting on the flattened bottoms.
• Bring water to a boil, cover the pot, and cook until the leaves can be easily pulled from the artichoke, 20 to 30 minutes.

EASY STEAMED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Prepare artichokes for steaming: Snap off tough outer leaves. Using a serrated knife, cut off top 1/3 of artichoke. Snip remaining sharp or spiky tips using kitchen shears. Trim stem so artichoke stands upright. Rub cut surfaces with lemon to prevent discoloration. Repeat with remaining artichokes and lemon.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot; add enough water so it reaches just below the basket. Squeeze lemon juice into water and add 1 tablespoon salt; bring to a boil. Place artichokes in steamer basket, stem-side up. Cover pot, and steam until heart is tender when pierced with a tip of a paring knife, and inner leaves pull out easily, 25 to 35 minutes; add more water to pot, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature with Easy Hollandaise or melted butter, if desired.