What's In Season: Artichokes

In the peak of spring vegetable season come the tender budding leaves of artichokes.

With every tear of the artichoke's petals, eaters are greeted with the rich, sweet, almost creamy fruit of the artichoke's heart. It is this inherent sweetness and depth of flavor that give the artichoke such character, and makes it so perfect in any springtime dish.

Divine simply boiled or steamed and served with a mayonnaise or butter dipping sauce, the artichoke's delicate earthy flavors also play perfectly against an assortment of other ingredients in many seasonal recipes.

In honor of this seasonal treat, we've gathered our five favorite artichoke recipes from the What's Cookin' database.

What's your favorite way to prepare the dainty vegetable? Let us know in the comments below.

Artichokes with Basil Mayonnaise

Sometimes there is no better way to eat a 'choke than to just boil it up and dip into something lovely. This basil mayonnaise is just the thing to pair with your freshly cooked artichokes. Creamy with just the right amount of herbaceous flavor, you won't be able to stop dunking.

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Stuffed Artichokes with Capers and Pecorino Cheese

Finely grated Pecorino cheese, salty capers and fresh French bread breadcrumbs are piled into tender artichoke hearts before being baked in this stuffed artichoke recipe. With some time in the oven, the simple ingredients marry into a soul-warming supper of deep, comforting flavors.

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Baby Artichoke and Sausage Rigatoni

This hearty dish is simply superb for suppertime come spring. The spiciness of the sausage plays against the rich artichoke meat for a mouthwatering Italian-style meal.

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Artichoke & Butter Lettuce Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

Tender butter lettuce is the perfect foil to that creamy, buttery flavor of in season artichokes. With a simple sprinkle of tarragon and mustard dressing, this is ready to be served.

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Pappardelle with Lemon, Baby Artichokes and Asparagus

Another pasta dish, but with a completely different style. The light lemon-based sauce is perfect for a mild spring evening, tossed with asparagus - another springtime treat - this is just to die for.

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Want to Learn More?

For more great spring recipes, check out Spring Time Braising!

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Comments

SandiATG

1073187 2

I just harvested artichokes from my friend's garden yesterday and will be steaming them tonight and having them with a lemony mayonnaise!

May 02, 2012 at 4:42 PM
Kate-
Statton

Hand of Snooth

853836 1,078

That sounds delicious Sandi - let us know how they turned out!

May 03, 2012 at 10:05 PM
misslin190-
74

797902 14

I am in Italy right now, and it is the season of the artichoke, or CARCIOFE...you wouldn't believe how many fabulous ways they make them! Eaxch region in the country has their own recipe...in Rome, they boil the entire thing, after trimming off only the toughest, outside leaves, and serve it with tomato sauce, or with grated cheese sprinkled over...in other regions, they trim it, again, and then deep fry the whole thing, with a light paste of rice flour and carbonated water with some salt added...too delicious for words! From late March through the entire spring months, they are the vegetable of choice throughout the country.

May 04, 2012 at 1:17 PM