This is one of my all time favorite ‘restaurant’ recipes. Anytime I go to a restaurant and I see grilled artichokes on the menu, I order them. I’ve found that I like them best when simply grilled with a little bit of seasoning and a great dipping sauce. I used to be intimidated by making a dipping sauce- especially those named ‘aioli’ until I discovered that ‘aioli’ is mayonnaise… Now I use mayonnaise as a base to make all kinds of great dipping sauces- this lemon and caper is one of my favorites. It is great with grilled shrimp, too- a favorite from my catering days.
Grilled Artichokes with a Lemon Garlic Caper Aioli 3 artichokes, quartered 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1 clove of garlic 1 tablespoon of sea salt + 2 teaspoons 1 teaspoon of cracked pepper for the aioli: 3/4 cup of mayonnaise 1/2 cup of sour cream 1 lemon, the juice of 1 clove of garlic 2 tablespoons of capers (or more, if you’d like) 1 teaspoon of sea salt 1/2 teaspoon of cracked pepper Combine olive oil and 1 clove of garlic cut in slices. Let the garlic infuse into the oil while you are preparing the artichokes. Cut the artichokes in quarters, lengthwise. Fill a medium saucepan with water with 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil. Add artichoke quarters and cook for 20-30 minutes until tender. Remove from water and let them cool on a baking sheet. If you are preparing these ahead of time, you can refrigerate them at this point up to over night. Before grilling, brush the garlic infused olive oil onto all sides of the artichoke hearts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side until there is a nice char on the leaves. For the sauce, stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, garlic capers, salt and pepper. Add more lemon, salt and/or pepper to taste.
The grilled artichokes are the perfect compliment to Grilled Prosciutto & Fresh Mozzarella toasts. 