Artichokes monterey - country living

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
4 mediums (9 to 10 oz each) artichokes
1 6-oz jar marinated artichoke hearts (see Note)
1 teaspoon Butter or margarine
3 tablespoons Chopped onion
1 tablespoon Fresh thyme leaves
½ cup Reduced-calorie mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon Salt
1 small Ripe plum tomato

Directions

1. ln 4-quart saucepan, heat 2 inches water to boiling over high heat.

Meanwhile, cut stems off artichokes so the artichokes will stand upright. Discard the lowest row of leaves. Lay the artichokes on their sides and cut off ¼ inch from the top of each. With scissors, snip off the tips of each leaf. 2. Drain the marinade from the artichoke hearts into the pan of boiling water. Set aside the marinated artichoke hearts. Arrange trimmed fresh artichokes upright in the pan of boiling water with the marinade. (They should fit snugly.) Cover pan and reduce heat to low.

Cook artichokes 30 to 35 minutes or until a central leaf comes out easily from the artichoke when it is pulled gently.

3. While artichokes are cooking, prepare dip: In small sauce-pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion and thyme; saute onion until tender-about 3 minutes. Transfer onion to food processor fitted with chopping blade. Pick over drained marinated artichoke hearts to remove the chokes and any tough or hard outer leaves.

4. Add artichoke hearts to the onion and process until finely chopped. Add mayonnaise, pepper, and salt process until pureed. Cover and refrigerate dip until ready to serve.

5. With slotted spoon, remove artichokes front boiling water and set them upside down on a plate to cool to room temperature. Squeeze each one gently upside down to remove all water. One artichoke at a time, open the center cone of leaves and gently pull out the soft inner pale-green leaves to reveal the thistle, or choke, attached to the artichoke bottom, or heart. (The bottoms of these leaves are edible so reserve to serve with dip.) With a spoon, form a cavity to hold the dip by scraping and removing the choke from the heart.

6. Just before serving, cut plum tomato lengthwise in half. Scoop out and discard pulp and seeds. Cut tomato halves crosswise into thin slices.

7. To serve, arrange artichokes on serving platter. Spoon dip into the artichoke cavities and garnish with tomato slices. To eat an artichoke, pull off an outer leaf, then scoop dip onto the base of the leaf and pull through your teeth to remove the soft, thick portion of the leaf. The entire heart of the artichoke is edible.

Note: California-grown marinated artichoke hearts are best for making the dip. Imported marinated hearts are very firm and often possess many tough outer leaves.

Nutritional intonnation per serving protein: 4 grams; fat: 10 graiii@ carbohydrate, 19 grams; fiber: 13 grams; sodium: 533 milligranis@ cholesterol: 13 milligrams calories: 208.

Country Living/April/93 Scanned & fixed by DP & GG

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