I started making artichokes this way when I was just a teenager and first discovered them. Honestly, the first time I made them this way I did it by accident; I’d been steaming them and dipping them in garlic butter for maybe a year or so and was looking for a different way to make them so I simmered the artichokes in water with some Italian dressing poured over them. I refrigerated the one I didn’t eat and voila! My own whole marinated artichokes were born.

Are these messy to eat? Yes, a little bit but they’re so good that they’re worth a couple of napkins. The bonus is that they’re very easy to make this way and you get the benefit of eating the whole artichoke, not just the heart. Score!

What I do here is really just make my own simplified version of Italian dressing but if you want to use that bottle of dressing you’ve got on hand, feel free. And yes, I use a lot of garlic, onion, and bell pepper here but that’s because I like all that good stuff to enjoy when eating all the leaves; you can adjust these to your own taste.

Whole Marinated Artichokes Recipe

• 2 large artichokes
• 1 large lemon, cut into quarters
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small bell pepper, minced
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 3/4 cup red or white vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

• Remove the first two layers of bottom leaves of the each of the artichokes and discard
• Trim 1/4 inch off the bottom of the stem of each artichoke and discard
  
• Use a vegetable peeler or a small knife to peel the outer layer of the stem and trim off any remaining leaf bases from the leaves you removed from each artichoke
  
• Use the lemon quarters and rub it along the cut portions of the artichokes to prevent them from turning brown but do not discard the lemons; you’re going to add them to the artichoke marinade
  
• Cut off 1/2 inch of the top of each of the artichokes and rub with lemon
  
• Cut each artichoke in half lengthwise and rub the exposed areas with lemon
  
• Using a small spoon, such as an iced-tea spoon (my go-to choice) or a paring knife, scoop or cut out the furry choke and sharp inner leaves from the center of the heart, rubbing each cut side with lemon as you go
  
• Place prepared artichokes cut side down in a large pan and fill with the remaining ingredients
• Add your used lemon wedges
• Bring the artichokes and marinade to a boil and then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 1 hour, ladling the marinade over the artichokes every 15 minutes or so
• Remove from heat and leave covered
• Let cool for about an hour
• Transfer to a large dish cut-side up, ladle marinade over, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 days.

Now, this actually works just as well if you don’t want to cut and clean the artichokes first. You can just trim the stem and cut off the top 1/2 inch of each artichoke, place in the marinade, and cook for an hour. Making them this way just means you’ll need to scoop out the fuzzy choke when you’re eating the artichoke but hey, I’ve done it this way plenty of times and don’t really mind.

Even better, if you want to add a bit of smokiness to these, pop the cooked artichoke halves under the broiler or on the grill for a few minutes before chilling…delicious!

So there you go! Whole marinated artichokes without wasting all of those beautiful leaves which are so delicious. Enjoy!