Sylvie recently sent me a Tik Tok about friends eating the weirdest things – and yes, one of the foods was an artichoke. I love them. She knows this and seems to find it interesting how much pleasure I get from biting into these tough leaves. As I gleefully enjoy the heart, she again seems fascinated by this. She doesn’t get it. I think she would if it was baked and stuffed with breadcrumbs and cheese like my mom made me when I was young. That is really something. But surprisingly I find I like them plain with a bit of olive oil and Malden salt. I avoided making them for myself all these years because it just seems like a lot of work for little reward. But the air fryer changed all that. I’m not saying these are the best artichokes in the world but if you like them, this is a super simple way to enjoy them.
Enjoy!
Here is how you do it:
Cut off the stem and peel off the leaves that were closest to the stem
Next, with a serrated knife cut through the top of the artichoke
With scissors, cut all the tiny prickly points off of the remaining stems
Slice artichoke in half. Then with a small sharp paring knife cut around the choke. This is the light colored area that is soft to the touch and looks kind of hairy. This is the only tricky part – just dig in there with your knife – cut the shape of the choke and then kind of dig that out and toss. There are a ton of videos on how to do this if you Google.
Preheat your air fryer – to 350. Spray the artichoke with olive oil on both sides – and salt with some Maldon salt. Air fry cut side down for 10 min then flip and air fry another 10 or so. You want the heart to be able to be pierced easily with a knife – so cook more if needed.