Artichokes and avocados are two of the first things that come to mind when I think of California cuisine. Our garden is full of beautiful artichokes right now, and I’m thrilled to be eating and cooking them. I think people are sometimes intimidated by the preparation of artichokes, but with a little time and prep-work the final product is worth the effort.

I have always enjoyed artichokes ever since the 3^rd grade when my mom returned home from a trip to California with a basket full.  She steamed them up and served them with lemon mayonnaise; I thought they were so new and exciting that I took them to school the next day for show & tell.  Even though I was I excited, the artichokes got mixed reviews from my classmates in North Carolina.

Artichokes are typically served with mayonnaise, lemon-butter or aioli, but I like to serve artichokes with Green Goddess dressing.  We make a traditional Green Goddess dressing, but also like to add avocado to bring richness and depth of color to the dressing.  Avocados aren’t just for guacamole, they are a great addition to salads or excellent for puréeing in sauces and dressings.

For this recipe you’ll need to clean the artichokes before you begin cooking. Like I said, it’s really not that hard. There’s a great step-by-step tutorial at Italian Food Forever that’ll have you enjoying them in no time.

Artichokes with Green Goddess Dressing
Serve with Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay

For the artichokes:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 onion, large dice
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 3 dozen small artichokes, cleaned & halved
• 1 cup white wine, such as Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay
• 2 quarts water
• 1 lemon
• 12 peppercorns
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/8 cup kosher salt

Method

1. In a large pot, add oil and heat for 1 minute over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic and carrot.  Cook until soft, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Add artichokes and cook for 1 minute.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer on low for 1 hour or until tender.  Strain the liquid into a bowl over an ice bath, add the artichokes to the liquid and allow to cool.

For the Green Goddess dressing (yields 3 cups):

• ¼ cup Chardonnay verjus
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 shallot
• 5 anchovy filets
• 1 cup parsley leaves
• ¼ cup tarragon leaves
• ¼ cup dill leaves
• ¼ cup chives, chopped
• ½ cup basil leaves
• 1 scallion, white and green parts chopped
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup Greek style yogurt
• ½ avocado flesh
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and puree until smooth.  Salt and pepper to taste.