Globe Artichoke with Béarnaise Sauce

Felicity Vincent
May 3, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Aug 1, 2024

How to cook and eat a globe artichoke

Artichokes are delicious but can seem a little intimidating. The easiest and potentially tastiest way to eat them in my opinion is cooking them whole then eating the leaves with a dipping sauce until the heart is uncovered. I hope the below makes you want to try them, I'm pairing them with a garlicky take on a classic béarnaise sauce.

Ingredients (serves 2):

Garlic Béarnaise Sauce:

25g aillets/ramps or 1 garlic clove
50mL white wine
50mL water
1/2 lemon
1 egg yolk
1 egg shell's worth of water
60g butter, melted
1 tsp wholegrain mustard

2 artichokes

Method:

To cook the artichokes:

Start by preparing them: Cut the stem off, this is also edible but has a thick fibrous exterior so peel it thoroughly before cooking. Remove the small outer leaves.
Rub the artichokes with half a lemon to stop them from oxidising and going brown.
Bring water up to a simmer in a saucepan, add a lemon slice and garlic clove then steam the artichokes over it for 30-45 minutes. You can also boil them straight in the water. Some recommend cooking the artichokes with the spikes facing downwards but I prefer cooking them upright to ensure the thicker heart gets a chance to cook through. They are done when you can easily pull off the leaves.

To make the béarnaise sauce:

Wash the ramps, remove the roots and thinly slice them.
Sweat them off with about 10g of butter in saucepan on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, then add the white wine and water and bring to a simmer. Leave to evaporate on the heat until almost all the liquid has gone, then take off the heat.
Separate the egg, save the white in the fridge to use in another dish such as an omelette. Wash one half of the egg shell and fill with water (use the bigger half if they aren't equal). Add that water and the egg yolk to the saucepan and return to a very low heat.
Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens. It should get to the point where you can split the sauce with the whisk to reveal the bottom of the pan, remove the whisk and the sauce doesn't move. At this point, remove it from the heat and transfer into a cold mixing bowl.
Melt the butter and put it in a jug. Technically, you should leave it to sit for a few minutes to make sure all the milk solids sink to the bottom and you are then only pouring the clarified butter into the sauce, but I've added milk solids in before and I don't think it makes the biggest difference!
Slowly pour the butter into the sauce, whisking continuously. Then add 1 tsp of wholegrain mustard and stir it in.
If it splits, do not worry, slowly whisk in a bit of hot water until it re-emulsifies.

Serve and enjoy:

Serve the globe artichokes whole with a bowl of sauce next to it.
Peel the leaves off one by one, dip them in the sauce and scrape off the flesh at the bottom of the leaves with your teeth. Continue until your reach the heart.
Remove the feathery 'hairs' with a spoon then eat the heart with a bit of sauce.
Bon appétit!

More about this recipe:

This isn't a traditional béarnaise, if that's what you are after use a shallot instead of ramps and replace the mustard with finely chopped chervil and tarragon.

Alternatively, you can serve globe artichokes with a simple vinaigrette, melted butter or just EVOO and balsamic vinegar.

Artichokes are a good source of vitamins such as folate, biotin, K and fibre, they make a great food to encourage focus as they contain:

Folate - supports brain function and contributes to higher alertness and concentration.
Inulin- non digestible dietary fibre to allow a slow release of energy to the brain. There is also recent research indicating that our gut bacteria produce tryptophan when they eat inulin, which is then transformed into serotonin (one of the good mood hormones)