Artichokes with vinaigrette dressing (artichaut vinaigrette as we call it in France) is a great classic of French cooking, light, cheap and easy to make. All my tips and tricks to prepare them and cook them perfectly.
In France, we love to eat raw or cooked vegetables as a starter, often served with vinaigrette. Fo example leeks, grated carrots, cucumber, celery... Artichokes are among those.
Information about artichokes
It is a vegetable that is often bypassed and associated with winter even if we can often see them on the market all year long.
Artichokes are in reality a plant that’s season starts in March, it is collected in spring and summer and is cultivated all the way through to September.
I am aware I have called it a vegetable even though it is actually a thistle bud, a plant that belongs in the Asteraceae family, which is also known as the Daisy family.
Many different artichoke varieties exist, they can be classed into 2 big categories: white, or purple artichokes.
For this recipe, I could not find the exact variety but I did not use small purple artichokes that we can often find in supermarkets. I used big white artichokes, similar to the ‘Camus de Bretagne’ variety which is the most famous and that actually originated from the Paris region in 1810.
The nutritional qualities of artichokes
Artichokes are very low in calories, about 27 kcal for 100 grams, it has a Nutri-score of level A.
This vegetable has several benefits: it is extremely rich in both vitamin B9 and potassium.
Choosing the correct artichoke and conserving it well
Choose artichokes that have a very dense head, and most importantly check to see if the leaves (sometimes also called bracts) are closed, they should be nice and tight against one another and have no markings, such as spots or patches of a different color.
The stem of the artichoke should be very hard and have a light color.
After buying your artichoke, you can conserve it for a few days with the rest of your vegetables.
Preparation and cooking of your artichoke
Starting with the stem, you must first break the stem by simply bending the stem at the base of the artichoke with your hands till it breaks off.
This will let you know if your artichoke is fresh, it should break off easily. If that does not work, you can use a knife to cut the stem off at the base of the artichoke.
Remove the first few outer leaves, they are usually small, slightly hard and usually not edible.
There are several techniques to cook your artichoke:
- Steaming it, this is my personal favorite as I have a steam over
- In a pan with boiling water, this is the most common way of cooking artichokes, boil them with the stem towards the bottom on the pan for about 20-30 minutes (depending on their size)
- By adding a weight on top, in some cases you can add a plate, a drainer or a cover. It prevents the artichokes from floating up to the surface.
- Adding a few slices of lemon, this helps prevent your artichokes from turning into a darker color (I did not have any lemon, you can see in the photos they are not as green and much darker)
A few vinaigrette options
- I chose a very mustardy vinaigrette made with wholegrain mustard, this is a personal choice as I enjoy a much thicker consistency to coat the artichoke leaves, but you can use any mustard you like
- You can also make a vinaigrette using estragon, cider vinegar and grapeseed oil
- Or a simple vinaigrette using dijon mustard, olive oil and some lemon juice
How to present the artichokes
Once they are cooked, drain them by flipping them upside down to remove all the water present between the leaves. Lay them down flat again and let them cool down a while.
Depending on your preferences, you can serve them hot, room temperature or cold, alongside your vinaigrette or french dressing of choice.
Personally, I present them whole, but you can also present them in a slightly more aesthetic way similar to what is done with bistrots, they spread the leaves out starting from the center to reach the fuzzy part also known as ‘the choke’ which they remove and pour a spoon of vinaigrette inside the meaty, hearty part.
This allows you to avoid needing to remove the fuzzy indelible part of the artichokes yourself while you are eating.
Some also choose to chop off the top of the section of the leaves, why not?
Artichokes with Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2 artichokes , 1 per person
Vinaigrette sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp cider vingar or wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp mustard
- salt
- Pepper
Instructions
Prepare the artichokes
- Break off the stem by hand or by using a knife. Remove the first few outer leaves of the artichokes
Cook your artichokes
- Boil some water with salt. Place your artichokes in the water, make sure the stem is facing the bottom of the pan. Idealty add some weight on top whether it be a lid or a plate in order to make sure they stay fully submerged.
- Cook your articles in the boiling water for about 30 mins if you use big articles, reduce the time slightly if your artichokes are smaller
- Drain them upside down, flip them over and lay them flat, let them cool down depending on if you wish to eat them hot or cold.
Prepare your vinaigrette
- Pour the mustard and vinegar of your choice in a bowl, add salt and pepper.
- Mix it well, then add a small drizzle of olive oil whilst beating the vinaigrette using a fork or a spoon to emulsify the vinaigrette.
Serve
- Serve the artichokes whole with the vinaigrette on the side
