Artichokes With Roasted Garlic Wine Dip

I love living in Southern California where there is the availability of local fruits and vegetables in the stores, as well as what is trucked and flown in from around the country and from other parts of the world, pretty much year-round.  It really makes cooking and eating fun! #ThisGirlLovesToEat 

One of the few things that I do have to be patient for are artichokes.  Nowhere grows them as big and meaty as we do in California.  In fact, 99.99% of all commercially grown artichokes are grown in California. 

Since I happen to love them, it’s a pretty good thing that Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom named artichokes the Official State Vegetable of California on April 10, 2013.  Artichokes from California are so fabulous that they’ve had their own festival for the past 59 years: Castroville Artichoke Food & Wine Festival.

Some people dip their leaves in mayonnaise (which makes me want to gag), others in various aiolis, dips or other concoctions, but I’ve been a ridiculous creature of habit for as long as I can remember, eating my artichokes one way and one way only: dipping each succulent leaf into a bowl of melted butter.  Occasionally I may deviate in the preparation of the steam that surrounds my artichoke, adding some white wine, maybe some garlic or some lemon to the water, but I never deviate on my buttery leaf bath.  Until now.

This long forgotten recipe I’d clipped from the May 2007 edition of Cooking Light  convinced me to change my ways (at least temporarily).

Artichokes With Roasted Garlic Wine Dip

• 2 whole garlic heads
• olive oil
• 4 medium artichokes (about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (like a sauvignon blanc)
• 1 cup organic vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat Oven to 400° F.
2. Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap each head separately in foil. Slice off just the top edge of the garlic head. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Seal the foil packets. Set foil packets in a baking pan.  Bake at 400° F for 45 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Squeeze cloves to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.
3. Cut off stems of artichokes, and remove bottom leaves. Trim about 1/2 inch from tops of artichokes and snip the sharp tips off the leaves. Place artichokes, stem ends down, on a rack set into a large Dutch oven filled until just touching the bottom of the artichokes with water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 to 60 minutes or until a leaf near the center of each artichoke pulls out easily. Turn off heat and leave in pan with lid on until ready to serve.
4. Combine half of garlic pulp and wine in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes. Add broth; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 8 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter and salt.

You can do the following steps with an immersion blender in the saucepan or follow the directions using a blender.  If using a blender remove the center piece in top to allow steam to escape and cover with a towel to avoid splatters.

1. Pour mixture into blender
2. Add remaining half of garlic pulp
3. Blend until smooth (using immersion blender if still in saucepan)
4. Sprinkle dip with parsley, if desired
5. Serve dip with warm artichokes

These can be a main course on a #MeatlessMonday, an appetizer if you’re willing to share, or you can make them as your veggie side dish with a piece of fish, lean chicken breast or big juicy steak! #ThisGirlLovesToEat