5-Ingredient Artichoke Salad

A fresh take on Artichoke Salad will be the highlight of your meal when you make this favorite Mediterranean-inspired artichokes recipe for your family or friends.

What is an Artichoke?

An artichoke is actually cultivated from a thistle plant and is a beautiful vegetable with a nutty flavor that varies in intensity depending on the ripeness of the fruit.

How to Buy Artichokes

Because this vegetable is so tricky to utilize from fresh, you can also buy it prepared and frozen, canned, or marinated.

Fresh Artichokes. If you want to go with fresh artichokes, we've detailed step-by-step instructions on how to get to the heart of an artichoke in the images and text below this section. In the meantime, look for an artichoke with bright green coloring, firm flesh that isn't wilting or drying up on the edges, and tight leaves that aren't yellowing. A little browning on the tips of the leaves is not a bad sign at all. The leaves should squeak when rubbed together.

Frozen Artichoke Hearts. Frozen artichoke hearts are a handy way to get at this vegetable without all the fuss. You can find them in two ways, artichoke hearts with some leaves attached, or artichoke bottoms without any leaves. Frozen Artichoke hearts or bottoms have been blanched first to preserve color and kill bacteria that might have been on the fresh fruit. Saute frozen artichokes for a cooked version of this artichoke salad or just eat them raw.

Canned Artichoke Hearts Canned Artichokes Bottoms: One of the easiest ways to get artichoke hearts is to purchase them in a can. These tiny morsels have been soaking in liquid and will be very soft and ready to eat. Just add them to your artichoke salad.

Marinated Artichokes. Similar to canned artichoke hearts, these artichokes have been soaked in liquid with flavors such as garlic and herbs added.

For our artichoke salad recipe, we are recommending either fresh artichokes served raw or frozen artichoke hearts. Either one can be eaten raw or sauteed.

How to Get the Artichokes Hearts Out of a Fresh Artichoke

Cleaning and Prepping artichokes for this salad require time, patience, and meticulousness. I learned how to do this from my parents -- my dad loves these kinds of jobs! Here's a step-by-step for how to prep artichokes for artichoke salad.

• Cut across about ¾ of the "flower" part of the artichoke, so you're left with the base and some of the stem
•  Remove the outer leaves until you reach the lighter, paler ones. With a knife, peel off the outer layer of the stem
• Using a sharp paring knife, carefully remove the "hairy" part of the heart until it's completely clean
• Place clean artichoke hearts in a bowl with water with half a fresh lemon squeezed by hand into the water.

How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

You can cook artichokes in so many different ways! Raw or frozen artichokes and artichoke hearts can be steamed, boiled, grilled, sauteed, or roasted. Season artichokes with lemon, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, or any combination of herbs and spices you find in a recipe for artichokes. Our artichoke salad can be served raw or the artichokes can be sauteed first.

Preparing Whole Artichokes to Cook

Before cooking a whole artichoke, you will need to trim off the stem and the top ½" or so of the leafy bulb. Then you will need to use sharp scissors to cut off the sharp tip of each leaf.

Cooking Artichokes

Steamed Artichokes. Trim whole artichokes and steam them over boiling water for twenty to thirty minutes until the leaves can easily be pulled apart. Artichokes cooked this way can be dipped at the table with a flavorful aioli or sauce.

Boiled Artichokes. You can boil artichokes by placing them in a pan full of water and weighing them down with something like a lid or plate to keep them submerged in the water. It will take 25-40 minutes to boil them until tender enough to eat.

Grilled Artichokes. Prepare and trim whole artichokes and then place them on the grill on direct heat. It will take between 45 and 1 hour to grill them until tender.

Sauteed Artichokes. Artichoke hearts can be sauteed in a skillet with your favorite seasonings. It will take between five and ten minutes to cook artichoke hearts to tender doneness depending on whether you start raw, frozen, or thawed from frozen.

Roasted Artichokes. Toss your whole artichokes in oil, salt, and pepper, wrap each one in foil, and then roast them on a sheet pan for a little over an hour until they are tender and ready to eat. Garlic is also a nice touch.

Ingredients for Artichoke Salad

• Artichoke Bottoms. You can make our salad with raw artichoke hearts or sauteed artichoke hearts. You can also purchase frozen artichoke bottoms, these are already blanched, and then saute them in extra virgin olive oil.
• Lemon.
• Black Olives. Cured in olive oil.
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes.
• Chives. Chives are in the same family as green onions or garlic, but the greens are milder and they are just right for adding to salads!
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil. A good EVOO has so much flavor and adds significantly to the success of the salad.
• Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice. For bright acidity.
• Salt. Just a pinch -- to taste.

FAQ

Do I need to use fresh artichoke hearts for this recipe?

Not necessarily. You can use either fresh artichokes and peel them to get to the heart as shown in the picture above or frozen hearts bottoms.

Can you eat artichokes raw? 

Yes, artichokes can be eaten raw. Cooking artichokes brings out the sweetness in this wonderful vegetable.

More Recipes with Artichokes

• Pea and Artichoke Pasta
• Artichoke Asparagus Frittatas

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