Artichokes with Red Pepper Aioli

Readers of Clearly Delicious may not be surprised to find that I love my greens.  Spinach? Love it.  Zucchini? Love it.  Edamame? Love it.  Artichokes? REALLY LOVE THEM.

But I am not of the many.  As TV commercials for “Hidden Valley Ranch” and finicky five-year-olds everywhere tell us, most Americans can’t eat a celery stick without first dipping it into a vat of manufactured ranch.

To these people, I say, “Okay, let’s do this.”  Let’s try a Clearly Delicious roasted vegetable that goes hand in hand with a beautiful dip that doesn’t come from a plastic bottle, but is made in your own kitchen.  If you must dip that celery stick, broccoli, raw veggie whatever it may be into something, why not make it a beautiful red Aioli?

In today’s post, I’ve whipped up a red pepper aioli with the guidance of Sommer Collier at A Spicy Perspective.  Sommer posted her version of this recipe last January as an attempt to combat the diet-eating mind-set of January Americans and say hey, some calories are worth it.

Fresh Aioli whipped from egg yolks and olive oil? Now that is definitely worth it.  I must admit that although I like my veggies just fine, this is one sauce I can’t help dipping into.

Artichokes with Red Pepper Aioli

This recipe is adapted from Sommer Collier at A Spicy Perspective.  Her food blog is INDEED a caliente variation of most home-cooked meals.  Definitely a food blog worth bookmarking.  For her version of the below recipe, see here.

Ingredients:

Aioli

* 2 egg yolks

* 1 garlic clove

* 1 teaspoon Cayenne (can add less for a less spicy Aioli)

* 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

* 1 Red Pepper, thinly slice and roasted in 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil

Artichokes

* 2-3 large Artichokes

* lemon juice (preferably 1 lemon, fresh)

1.) Place a large pot with a steaming basket over high heat and begin to warm.  Meanwhile, wash artichokes and cut off the sharp pointy tips of the artichoke leaves.  Taking a lemon, squeeze fresh lemon juice over all of the tips to prevent them from browning.  Add artichokes to steaming basket.

2.) Steam artichokes for 30-40 minutes or until a center leaf pulls out easily.

3.) Thinly slice red pepper and roast with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper to taste until tender.  Add red pepper to food processor with egg yolks, garlic, cayenne, and salt.  Process until smooth. It’s best to process aioli right before your artichokes are ready, otherwise you’ll need to refrigerate the sauce.

4.) Serve steamed artichokes with fresh red pepper aioli and enjoy!Makes 2-3 servings.

–Helana Brigman

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