With this recipe, I believe Alison achieved her goal of making artichoke hearts that are easily eaten in one sitting. Her main gripe with store bought ones is that they’re too tangy to eat in quick succession. I’ll add that I think they’re too oily, also. For these reasons, I will start to opt for making my very own marinated artichoke hearts, a la Alison Roman.
The process is quite simple. I started by draining and quartering two cans of artichoke hearts. I like my artichokes in small bites, which is why I opted for quartering as opposed to halving. I placed the hearts in a serving bowl and turned to the oil. I brought a half cup of oil to a very low sizzle over medium heat, along with fresh thyme (Alison calls for oregano), thin lemon slices, and very thin shallot rings. Once the shallot and lemon began to sizzle, I removed the pot from the heat and seasoned everything with salt and pepper.
I poured everything from the pot over the artichoke hearts, and added a splash of white wine vinegar. The hearts marinated on the counter for an hour before I stuck them in the fridge. We left for dinner at Sam and Madeline’s about 2 hours later. Just before leaving our apartment, I sprinkled the bowl with fresh parsley.
I served this appetizer alongside Alison’s Lemon Goat Cheese, which was clearly the winner between the two. Everyone seemed to eat one or two artichoke quarters, but they completely finished the goat cheese. Over the next few days, I ate the remaining leftovers for lunch with handfuls of kale and almond crackers. Artichokes are an acquired taste. If you really enjoy artichokes, then I think you’ll enjoy this recipe. If artichokes aren’t your favorite, then go ahead and skip it.
114 recipes cooked, 111 to go.
