Foodie Friday: Easy Baked Artichokes

Remember that Easy Baked Artichoke recipe I told you to look forward to?! Well in my 23 years of existence I have never baked an artichoke, so here we go! If you know me, you know this is crazy talk; I have prepared artichokes in almost every fashion and I eat probably 100 (or easily more) artichokes per year! WHOA. So this was super exciting for me and it was almost as easy (and if not more tasty) as boiling these bad boys.



What you will need:

2 large artichokes rinsed, leaves trimmed
1 whole Lemon, cut in half
4 cloves of Garlic, slivered (I used 11, Mmm)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
sea salt to taste
4 sheets of heavy duty foil wrap



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Trimming the leaves and stem is optional, but very easy. Just take a serrated knife and cut off the top and as far up on the stem as you would like. Trim the leaves with scissors.



3. Squeeze 1/2 a lemon on the top of each trimmed artichoke, then drizzle each artichoke with 2 tablespoons of olive oil (allowing oil to go in between artichoke leaves).



4. Stuff 2 cloves (or 11 if you're a garlic fiend like I am) of your slivered (I more or less minced) garlic between the leaves of each artichoke and sprinkle with salt.



5. Double wrap each Artichoke with 2 layers of heavy duty foil, sealing well on top by twisting and pinching foil.



6. Place foil packets of artichokes in oven and bake for an hour to an hour and a half (depending on size).



7. Remove artichokes from oven. When cool enough to handle, unwrap artichokes and enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce (I used a lemon aioli).