Grill Lemony Artichoke Hearts

Make room on the grates for this grilled vegetable

When you attend a backyard cookout, or when you tend grill yourself, how often do you see vegetables sizzling on the grates? Steaks, burgers, hot dogs—sure. Produce? Rarely.

Cookouts usually relegate vegetables to the picnic table, where they’re tossed with mayo or mixed into pasta salads. It’s sad, considering that so much produce is in its prime during the summer months and—like most any food on the planet—it, too, tastes better when thrown on the grill.

An example: artichokes. These spiky mace-like plumes of produce are actually flower buds picked before they blossom. When trimmed and cooked they have a mellow asparagus-like flavor that’s slightly starchy. When grilled, artichokes carry a faint char that matches up well with olive oil and lemon.

This recipe requires you to pre-cook the artichokes in an oil and butter bath, and then finish them on your grill. The two-stage cooking process turns the artichoke hearts tender and infuses them with a payload of flavor.

Grilled Artichoke
Recipe by Andrew Brown, executive chef of Opa in Philadelphia, PA

What you’ll need:
4 whole artichokes
4 lemons
2 cups good quality olive oil
8 Tbsp butter
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sugar

How to make it:
1. Place the artichokes in a container with water to cover and squeeze the juice of 2 lemons over the dish so that the artichokes do not discolor. Preheat your oven to 400°F.

2. Trim the outer leaves from the artichoke and place the artichoke hearts in a baking dish. Add 1 cup of olive oil, the butter, the thyme, and the bay leaves to the baking dish. Add water until it barely covers the artichokes. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the artichokes are tender, about 40 minutes.

3. While the artichokes bake, make your Ladolemono sauce. In a small bowl, juice the remaining lemons and add the sugar. Slowly whisk in the remaining olive oil.

4. Preheat your grill to high, direct heat. Grill the artichokes until grill marks appear on each side, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately with the sauce.

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