Grilled Artichokes with Homemade Aioli
You can steam the artichokes up to one day ahead and store them covered in the refrigerator. Extra aioli (as if) will keep covered in the refrigerator for 4 days. You can also use a good store bought aioli, like Primal Kitchen Garlic Aioli Mayo
Ingredients List
FOR THE ARTICHOKE
- 2 large artichokes, stems trimmed
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup homemade Aioli (see recipe below)
FOR THE HOMEMADE AIOLI
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup avocado oil, room temperature
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, room temperature
Instructions
FOR THE ARTICHOKE
- Slice 1-inch off the top of the artichoke. Remove and discard the small leaves around each base/stem and snip off the thorny leaf tips
- In a large pot, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt.
- Halve the lemon. Set aside one half, then squeeze the juice from the other half into the boiling water. Add the artichokes, cover, and let steam until the artichoke bottoms pierce easily with the tip of a paring knife, 25 to 35 minutes, depending on their size. Drain the artichokes.
- Finish the artichokes by cutting them in half lengthwise, and then use the point of a small spoon to scoop out the choke and some of the soft inner leaves from around each heart. Brush the artichokes with the olive oil and liberally season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Place the artichokes on the hot grill, cut-side down, until lightly charred, 6 to 8 minutes, rotating them 45 degrees about halfway through. Flip and grill for 2 minutes on the other side, just to heat through.
- Arrange the artichokes on a platter and generously season with salt and pepper and serve with the aioli on the side and garnish with lemon wedges.
- Prepare a grill or grill pan to high heat. Transfer the artichokes to the grill flat side up and cook, uncovered, until browned and lightly charred on one side (about 5 minutes). Flip and continue to cook until grill marks appear, about 4 to 6 minutes more. Remove the artichokes from the grill, drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season with more salt and pepper to taste.
FOR THE HOMEMADE AIOLI
- In a medium bowl, combine the lemon zest and juice, 1 of the eggs, only the yolk of the remaining egg, and the garlic, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Whisking constantly by hand or with an immersion blender, gradually add the avocado oil a few drops at a time so the mixture is opaque and all the oil incorporates into the mixture as you go. Once the mixture begins to thicken, add the remaining avocado oil in a small stream rather than drop by drop. Once you’ve added all the avocado oil, continue whisking and stream in the olive oil to achieve a rich and thick aioli. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
I live in Napa Valley and these are as good as Rutherford Grill’s artichokes!