Grilled Baby Artichokes

Russ came home with a big bag of purple baby artichokes.  When we were on the west coast last year we had grilled artichokes a couple of times and found that putting the artichoke over a fire gave it a new layer of flavor.  The only problem with most of the ones we ate in restaurants was they were not cooked enough so it was tough to scrape off the yummy flesh from the outer leaves.  So I tried to boil these artichokes first and then put them on the fire.  Did the trick!

Baby artichokes

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Sauce

Light olive oil mayonnaise

Lemon juice

Cracked black Pepper

Cut the artichokes in half and using a spoon scoop out the choke.  Place the artichokes in a bowl with water and the juice of half a lemon as soon as you have cut them.

In a stockpot big enough to hold all the artichokes bring two inches of water to a boil.  Add the artichokes and cook on high heat covered for five minutes.  (If you are using big artichoke boil them for at least 30 minutes)

Remove the artichokes from the pot with a slotted spoon and put in a bowl.  Sprinkle a little olive oil and salt over them.

Heat the grill to fairly hot and place all the artichokes on the grate cut side down.  Put the lid on the grill and cook them for four minutes.  Flip them over and cook on the other side for three minutes.  Remove them from the grill and put them back in the bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so the heat will stay in helping steam the artichokes.

They can be served hot, room temp or cold.

I made a dipping sauce that was 3 T. light mayo with the juice and zest of one lemon and a bunch of cracked black pepper.  YUMMY!