Of Artichokes With a Savory Sauce.

One of the easiest ways to make any dinner memorable is to offer a starter course, as a special way to begin the meal. Nothing that takes all day, or is complicated. Something light, enjoyable, and delicious! This brings us to Of Artichokes with a Savory Sauce...one of our favorite starters!

Years ago in our garden, there are two artichoke plants. They were rescue plants, found on the clearance table at the local drug store on a late summer's day. They were cheap, withered, and without identification tags. However, I knew enough to know they were artichokes and that I would love having artichokes in the yard or garden, so into the cart they went.

I did not know it at the time, but they were also different varieties of artichokes. One of the plants was a globe variety and the other is what I shall refer to as the standard variety, taller, and with a taper at the top. Personally, I have always loved artichokes. Now to be honest during childhood my favorite part was simply dipping into and enjoying the creamy mayonnaise that my mom put on the side of my plate. And while I never felt she put enough there...often I was corrected when told, that I had had enough mayonnaise for two artichokes!

Then when I got to spend Easter Vacation with my God Parents on their dairy farm, my Godmother and I would go and pick the artichokes and gather eggs when her parents were traveling and not at home. I loved throwing cracked corn to the hens and having artichokes for dinner later that day! Because, you know, mayonnaise...that creamy lemony rich taste is a favorite!

The other thing I enjoyed was the process of eating an artichoke. Leaf by leaf giving a little nibble of the heart of the artichoke that was waiting for you when got through to the choke part, and the real work began! I thought it was fun to pull off a leaf, scrape it across the mound of mayonnaise on the edge of my plate and then carefully pull the tip, soft side down, across the top edge of my bottom teeth. You also had to gently close your top teeth so there was a bit of pressure upon the leaf to scrape it clean, leaving precious little behind!

That little bit of the artichoke heart at the edge of the leaf is but a tease, but the tease does go on row after row of leaves! And speaking for myself that little bite of the artichoke on the tip of the leaves will keep me working on that artichoke until I reach the heart. I have made a small change in my artichoke eating style as an adult. I do not dip each leaf tip in mayo, because I do end up eating more than my share of mayonnaise. Now I simply savor the tiny tastes along the way, in their natural state of pure artichoke bliss. And while I will always love mayo, there is now this savory sauce to spoon over the heart, once we have completed the work to get there!

Oh and the best way to cook an artichoke? In the Instant Pot, of course! Simply add 1 cup of water to your cooking vessel, add the artichokes and cook for 10 minutes, once full pressure has been reached. Let rest for 10 more minutes under pressure, then manually release and you have cooked artichokes. You can fill the pot with artichokes, and even if it seems crowded they won't complain... Serve warm or chilled as per your own standards. But do remember, a chilled artichoke makes a wonderful starter to any meal with friends and family.

Some thoughts on this recipe:

Use any mustard you enjoy, even yellow ballpark style will make a lovely sauce.

You may cook the artichokes ahead and serve chilled or allow them to cool slightly after releasing the pressure and serve warm.

For extra-large artichokes cut in half lengthwise, to serve.

Leftover Lemon and Chive Dipping Sauce is a great sandwich spread!

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

mayonnaise
lemon juice
mustard
sugar
snipped chives
additional chive leaves for garnish

You will also need the following:

small mixing bowl
measuring cups
measuring spoons
whisk
small serving dish
kitchen knife
cutting board

Now we are ready to begin!

Lemon and Chive Dipping Sauce, Of Artichokes with a Savory Sauce

by the seat of my pants

makes a generous 1/2 cup

1/2 c mayonnaise

2 t mustard

1 T lemon juice

1 1/2 t sugar

1 scant T finely snipped chives

Snip the chives into tiny slices, and set them aside.

Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and sugar until smooth.

Stir in the snipped chives. Spoon into the serving dish and decorate with some knotted chives. Serve.

Storage options for Lemon and Chive Dipping Sauce. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Do not freeze.

UPDATE: For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Lemon and Chive Dipping Sauce has been included below.

#wholefoodingredients

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Printable "copy and paste" version: