Steamed Artichokes with Tarragon Mayonnaise
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Martha Stewart Living, March 2008
- Yield Serves 6 to 8
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Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 6 to 8 artichokes
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
- 3 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
- Squeeze juice of 1 lemon into a large bowl of cold water.
- Trim stem of 1 artichoke flush with bottom. Snap off outer leaves. Using kitchen shears, cut off tips of remaining leaves. Place in lemon water. Repeat.
- Drain artichokes, and place in a pot in a single snug layer (in batches if necessary). Add 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and steam until tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from pot. Let cool. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, zest and juice remaining lemon. Whisk zest, 2 tablespoons juice, the mayonnaise, tarragon, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Serve alongside artichokes.
Good. One thing I might try, though, is to make my own mayonnaise. It is so much more about flavour then, than mouth feel. Made with olive oil and tarragon vinegar and lemon juice, etcetra, it could really be good. It's not hard, either, just egg yolk-bzz-mustard powder-bzz-acid-bzz-stream of oil as you continue to bzzzz, with other stuff (garlic?) added either at the beginning or stirred in later. I whisk, though sometimes use blender (whole egg). Bind w/ hot water drops at end.
Artichokes are the perfect thing to serve guests; especially if the occasion is a little formal and you don't provide an obvious place for the spent leaves. It's very entertaining to see what everyone does with them. They also have a way of reminding us to linger over the meal, and while doing so, to laugh, and then eventually, because it can be done in this case, to get to the heart of the matter. The succulent sacred artichoke heart. Thanks. You always have wonderful ideas.