Thoroughly explained: how to clean an artichoke

A whole steamed artichoke is an incredibly delicious and summery starter or side dish, served with a tasty mayo for dipping. But if you want to present an artichoke a little more elegantly and you’re in the mood for a slightly more hands on project, you can clean it beautifully. Here’s how.

An artichoke as you usually buy it already looks impressive, but once you clean it, you can really see what a little miracle of nature it is. It takes a little time, but with some perseverance, you can handle this task too!

From rustic to elegant

First things first: you can also simply steam and eat an artichoke ‘as is’, as we describe in this article how to make a summery artichoke with mayo! But if you only want to serve or use the tender heart, proceed as follows:

Only the big ones

Let’s assume you have large artichokes, rather than the baby artichokes used to make the classic Roman dish carciofi alla giudia. Those only require ‘cleaning’ the tough outer leaves, and once cooked, the remaining inside is edible whole. But those baby artichokes aren’t routinely available in supermarkets in the Netherlands, so for now we’ll focus on the more widely available large artichokes.

How to clean an artichoke to prepare the heart

• First, pull off all the tough leaves until you reach the very thin, lighter-colored leaves on the inside.
• Cut off the stem, then use a slightly serrated knife to cut the thin, tender leaves horizontally from the bulb, just above the ‘heart’—a few centimeters above where the stem begins.
• Now take a paring knife or a sturdy vegetable knife and carefully cut around the heart until no tough green parts remain on it.
• Now remove the ‘choke’ from the center of the heart using an ice cream scoop or melon baller.
• Keep the hollowed-out hearts in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice to prevent discoloration if you’re preparing several artichokes.
• If you want to use the inside of the stem (just as you should never throw away broccoli stems!), remove the tough, fibrous exterior with a sharp knife, or use a vegetable peeler.
• You can slice the tender core of the stem and cook it along with the artichoke hearts.
• You can stuff the hearts or, just like a whole artichoke, serve them with a tasty mayo vinaigrette. You’ve got this!

Also read:

• Recipe: Pizza with olives & artichokes
• Did you know these vegetables grow like this?
• This is how you make the tastiest and easiest pasta primavera!