1910. Artichokes with Hollandaise Sauce

We used to have artichokes quite often in my childhood. It's quite sad how much recent generations are missing out on. These artichokes are delicious simply boiled in salted water. They are however further elevated by the accompanying butter and egg yolk sauce used as a dip.

Ingredients: 

4 artichokes 

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

3 egg yolks

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. cold butter

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Rinse off the artichokes. Cut off the stems, including any low petals, so that they can stand upright. Using kitchen shears, trim off the sharp, pointy ends of the petals.

At the top of the artichokes, where the petals are too tight to trim individually, take a small knife and just cut ¼″-½″ off, as needed.

Drop the artichokes into a large pot of rapidly boiling, salted water. Immediately cover the artichokes with several layers of clean cheesecloth, to help them maintain their color a little better.

Boil the artichokes for 30-40 minutes, depending on how large they are. They will be done when the petals separate easily from the body of the artichoke, and the bottom can easily be pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, make the hollandaise. Melt 6 tbsp. of the butter over medium-low heat. Set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk together 3 egg yolks for 1-2 minutes, until they become thick and creamy. Add the lemon juice, water, and a pinch of salt. Whisk again for another half a minute.

Add in 1 tbsp. of cold butter and set the egg mixture over very low heat on the stove. Whisk until the butter melts and the mixture thickens. When you can see the whisk strokes at the bottom of the pan, the mixture has thickened enough. Immediately remove from heat and whisk in another tbsp. of cold butter to help stop the egg yolks cooking.

Once the second tbsp. of butter has melted, begin to stream in the cooled melted butter from earlier, a few drops at a time, whisking constantly. The sauce will thicken into a heavy cream.

When all the butter is mixed in, taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the hollandaise to a serving bowl.

Once the artichokes are done, remove from the water and drain upside-down in a large colander for about 5 minutes.

Serve the artichokes warm with the hollandaise for dipping.