MAKE IT CUTE

Ingredients:

Garlic Oil

1 head garlic

½ cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil, divided

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Artichokes

2 large artichokes

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

To make the garlic oil:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel away the papery outer layers of the garlic bulb, but leave the individual garlic skins intact. Slice off the pointy end of the head of garlic, so that the tops of all the cloves are exposed. Place the head of garlic on foil, cut side up, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Loosely fold up the ends of the foil pouch and pinch to seal. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the garlic cloves are fork tender. Remove them from the oven and let cool. Once cooled, squeeze the head of garlic and the soft clove will pop out. In a small bowl, mash the roasted garlic with the remaining ½ cup olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.

To make the artichokes:

Cut off the stem end of each artichoke and pull off the tough outer leaves. With a sharp knife, cut ¾ inch to 1 inch off the top of each artichoke. Using kitchen shears, cut off the sharp tips of the remaining leaves.

Fill a large pot with enough water to reach the bottom of a steamer basket. Place artichokes in the basket, cover and steam for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the bases are fork tender. Check the pot occasionally and add more water of necessary. Remove from the steam basket and let cool.

Cut each artichoke into halves or quarters. Using a spoon, remove the fuzzy choke. Drizzle with oil and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat a grill of stovetop grill pan. Place each artichoke piece on the grill, cut-side down. Grill for 5 minutes, or until each piece is nicely browned. Remove from grill and serve with garlic oil.

by Chloe Coscarelli | 2/1/2016