Grilled Artichokes

My love of artichokes started at a very young age. We ate artichokes many different ways, my all time favorite was when my mother would stuff them the Sicilian way...with onions, garlic, breadcrumb and spices.....today you can buy artichoke "hearts" in a can, frozen, in a jar with oil, and now just the artichoke bottom. The bottoms are a score! When you eat through a fresh artichoke the bottom is the prize and what you are working towards. The artichoke hearts that you buy today are great for salads, frittatas, antipasto, dips etc. This recipe is for a fresh whole artichoke grilled, although I too love to stuff them. I opt for a healthier option these days and choose to grill!

Ingredients

2 large artichokes

Olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Serrated bread knife

Directions

Pre heat your grill. Cut off artichoke stem, reserve. Cut off 1 inch from the top of the artichoke. Remove outer leaves by  off.Cut in quarters. Remove the inner hairs and some of the leaves. Place bottom down in pot with two inches of water. Sprinkle with salt. Bring water to boil, cover pot and lower flame. Steam for about 20 minutes. Stick with a fork to check for doneness should be able to pierce, you want it cooked 3/4 of the way, it will finish cooking on the grill. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on them.

Remove from pot place right on HOT grill. Turning only once after approx. 10 minutes you want each side charred. 

Remove from grill, on the inside part sprinkle with salt, black pepper and drizzle of olive oil.

Enjoy!

Lucia