For a seasonal Northern California entree, make these artichokes with pesto butter

The Abridged version:

• Zoe Barrie’s mid-May Cooking in Season recipe is for steamed artichokes with pesto butter.
• One of Barrie’s first tasks at her former farm-to-table restaurant job was trimming hundreds of artichokes. Despite the tedious work, she fell in love with the vegetable.
• Don’t ignore the artichoke leaves: they’re as tasty as the hearts, especially when dipped in melted butter.

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This is Cooking in Season, a biweekly series from local recipe developer Zoe Barrie using seasonal produce available at Sacramento-area farmers markets. 

I rarely encountered whole artichokes growing up, despite being born and raised in Northern California, the heart of U.S. artichoke production. Most of the artichokes I ate came from jars — marinated artichoke hearts folded into salads, pastas and antipasto platters.

Ironically, one of my very first tasks at the farm-to-table restaurant where I worked was trimming down hundreds of artichokes for stuffing. The work was tedious and not necessarily kind to my hands, but somewhere between the thorny leaves and my artichoke-stained nails, I fell in love with fresh artichokes. They require a little work, but the reward is well worth it.

While the heart is considered the prized part of the artichoke, I’d argue that the leaves are equally delicious, especially when dipped in warm, melted butter. Steaming them whole is also far less labor-intensive than breaking them down, making fresh artichokes far more pleasant to prepare at home.

Artichokes with pesto butter

Yield: 4 servings
Total Time: 50 minutes

When sourcing artichokes, look for ones that feel heavy and have tight, compact leaves. Once cooked, pull the leaves away one at a time and dip the fleshy ends into the pesto butter, scraping the flesh from each leaf with your teeth. Once you reach the choke — the fuzzy center — use a spoon to scrape and discard it. Enjoy the tender artichoke heart with the remaining pesto butter.

Ingredients

½ cup tightly packed basil

4 globe artichokes

1 lemon, halved

½ cup salted butter, melted

1 garlic clove

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Kosher salt

Instructions

Step 1

Prepare an ice bath: fill a small bowl with ice and cover with water.

Step 2

In a large pot fitted with a lid, bring 2 inches of water to a boil over high heat. Add the basil and blanch until wilted and bright green, about 20 seconds. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer to the ice bath and let cool completely.

Step 3

Using a serrated knife, cut away the top inch of each artichoke. Peel away the tough lower leaves near the base and trim the stems. Using kitchen shears, snip the pointed tips from the remaining leaves. Rub all cut surfaces with lemon to prevent browning.

Step 4

Add the juice from both lemon halves to the pot of water, then carefully place a steamer basket* inside. Arrange the artichokes in the steamer basket, cover, and reduce the heat to medium. Steam until the bases are tender and the leaves pull away easily, 35 to 45 minutes.

Step 5

Meanwhile, pat the basil dry. Transfer it to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and add the melted butter, garlic and Parmigiano Reggiano. Blend until smooth, emulsified and bright green. Taste and season with salt, as needed.

Step 6

Allow the artichokes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and serve warm with the pesto butter.

*If you don’t have a steamer basket, place a small heatproof bowl upside down in the pot and set a heatproof plate on top to create a raised steaming surface.

Zoe Barrie is the writer and recipe developer behind Cooking In Season, a biweekly column featuring recipes made from the Sacramento region’s seasonal produce. She runs the popular Substack page Restaurant Dropout and previously worked in Bay Area restaurants after graduating from culinary school.