Artichokes with Homemade Hollandaise Sauce

For the sauce:

1. Melt the butter in the microwave—heat it for 30 seconds at a time and continue until it’s melted. When it’s done, skim the fat off the top. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. In a heat-safe bowl, whisk the 3 egg yolks completely.

3. Add an inch or so of water to a pot that the bowl (the one that you have the eggs in) can rest on top of. Heat the water over low-medium heat.

4. Put the bowl of eggs on top of the pot of simmering water. Whisk the eggs constantly over the heat, be careful not to cook the eggs (keep the heat low), until lightened in color and doubled in size. It will look thick and fluffy.

5. Add a little of the butter and mix in.

6. Slowly add the rest of the butter whisking constantly. Katherine has a great point here. If it starts to look grainy add a tablespoon or two of cold water and whisk until smooth. This happened to me and adding the water saved the day!

7. Once all of the butter has been incorporated, remove from heat and add the lemon juice, salt, cayenne and paprika. Set aside.

(Sauce recipe adapted from Katherine Martinelli.)

For the artichoke:

1. Cut an inch off the top of the artichoke.

2. Use scissors to snip the ends of the leaves off, they can be thorny but are safe to eat.

3. Cut the stem but leave about an inch.

4. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the whole artichoke and cook for 25-40 minutes or until the outer leaves can be easily pulled off.

5. To eat the leaves, you don’t actually eat the entire leaf. One side of the leaf is waxy and the other has a kind of meaty, pulpy part that can be scraped off. Dip the leaf in the sauce. Then place the leaf in your mouth pulpy side down and pull through your teeth scraping off the yummy earthy part, especially the white end bite. Yum!

(Artichoke recipe adapted from Simply Recipe.)