1. Trim, wash, drain, and air dry artichokes.
2. Spread petals open, sprinkle diced garlic (at least 1 clove per choke), sprinkle with lots of salt, and then drench with extra virgin olive oil. Make sure all ingredients get between petals.
3. Place in Dutch Oven or other baking pan and cover tight.
4. Roast at 450 degrees(450*F) 75 minutes to 90 minutes.
5. At about 50 minutes baste with olive oil in bottom of baking pan. Recover and continue roasting.
6. When petals remove easily, they are done.
Note: The goal is to get the outer petals to turn brown. This is caramelizing. This is where the tasty flavor comes from. When doing larger amounts, make sure the artichokes are not crowded. Also, before you start seasoning, make sure they are totally dry which helps them brown. If the outer petals seem too brown, this is okay..it means more flavor. I sometimes add a few more drops of olive oil to the bottom of the pan when basting. Even though the outside may seem too brown the inner petals and heart are full of flavor.
I had artichokes this way all of my life. I didn’t have a steamed one until I was eighteen and thought they were horrible..lol
Alfred Eanni (Ianni)
