preparation

4 servings

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

1. Trim the artichokes by cutting off some of the stem so the artichoke can sit upright without tipping over. Trim with scissors by cutting straight across the very top portion of each leaf.

2. Fill a large bowl 2/3 full with water. Add the 3 Tbsp. of lemon juice. Add the artichokes to the water and let stand for 30 minutes. This preserves the artichoke's color throughout the cooking process.

3. Drain the artichokes.

4. Set a steamer rack with 2 inches of water in a large saucepan. Place the artichokes on the steamer rack, cover, and steam the artichokes for about 40 minutes, adding more water as necessary to the bottom of the pan. Pull a leaf to test for doneness. The leaf should pull out easily, and its fleshy end should be soft to eat.

5. Combine all sauce ingredients. Cut the artichokes in half and serve them with the sauce.

6. To eat, pull a leaf from the artichoke and dip it in the sauce. Eat the fleshy end of the artichoke and discard the leaf. When you reach the center, remove the inedible choke and purple-toned inner leaves and cut the fleshy heart into small pieces to eat.