Steamed Artichokes with Lemon-Caper Aioli

Rinse the artichokes in cold water. Cut approximately 1 inch off the top of each. Trim the tips off each leaf, which removes the little thorn. Remove the smaller, raggedy leaves near the base of the artichoke. Cut the stem of the artichoke, leaving just about an inch. The stem can be tougher and sometimes stringy. I like the flavor so I choose to leave about an inch. You can also peel the first layer off the stem or completely cut it flush with the artichoke.

Fill a pot with enough water that it won’t boil off but won’t disrupt the steamer basket, about 2-3 inches. Bring the water to a boil then lower to a simmer and place the steamer basket with the artichokes into the pot. Cover. Let the artichokes steam for approximately 45 minutes. This always seems to be the magic number for me when cooking artichokes. I test the leaves after around 35-40 minutes by tugging at one to see if it pulls away easily, but it always seems to need 45 minutes.

If you choose to use the aioli, while the artichokes steam away, add the aioli ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine and smooth out any clumps from the mayo and yogurt.

To eat:
One at a time, pull a leaf off of the artichoke, starting with the outer leaves. Dip the whiter, tender part, or the base of the leaf, into your dressing of choice.

Now the fun starts! Place the leaf into your mouth (I like to do this pulp-side up but you can do either) while gripping the cut end. Place your teeth onto the leaf and scrape the pulp off the leaf while you pull the leaf back out.

You will notice as you get farther along that the leaves get tender and you will be able to scrape more off each leaf, and near the end you can usually bite the base of each leaf completely off.

As you near the finish line, the leaves will get smaller and yellowy and the tops will look purple. When you get to this point you are almost to the choke! Once the final leaves are removed, you will see the choke, which looks like a hairy center. Go ahead and scrape it out with a spoon.

Now you have reached the heart of the artichoke! This is my favorite part. I like to cut it in half or quarters and dip it in the remaining aioli.