Eat Skinny Be Skinny Vegetarian: Greek Roasted Artichokes
Oh, hey 2:45 pm. You got here QUICKLY. Wasn’t quite expecting that. Guys, this morning has been NUTS. I’ve been doing a work event since 8:30 am, as well as trying to get things all ready for our big event in 2 weeks. It’s been a whirlwind! But, before I get into the newest recipe I have to share, I want to thank y’all, again, for being awesome. My eggplant was featured on the Foodbuzz top 9 again and that just tickles me. I’m so thankful for EACH of you!
Now, let’s talk about one of the easiest things I’ve ever made; roasted artichokes.
When I say one of the easiest, I’m not kidding. All I did was preheat the oven, season the heck out of the artichoke, pour some olive oil in foil and wrap that baby up. Then, you bake it. Seriously, it’s easy. The only thing that takes time is the actual baking. But every second waiting, staring at the kitchen timer go down was worth it. The smokey, savory aroma that poured out of the foil as soon as this baby came out of the oven was incredible.
I immediately dug in. Which, of course, bit me in the ass. See, the thing is, when food has been baking for an hour and 15 minutes WRAPPED IN FOIL, it tends to get rather hot. And, rather hot things burn fingers. Just an fyi. Lesson learned, I immediately waited another few minutes until the smoke stopped pouring and it was safe to eat. Then, I delicately (yet still ravenously) peeled away each soft leaf, dipped it in the garlic, olive oil, lemon mixture I made and devoured it.
Most people dip these in mayo or butter, but the olive oil was perfect. Olive oil is a much healthier option than either two as well. Plus, this artichoke has such a delicious flavor on it’s own, it doesn’t need a heavy dipping sauce to muck it up. Or really a dipping sauce at all! As you can tell lately, I’m sort of really into Greek spice. It’s amazing.
BUT GUYS! I haven’t even mentioned the best part. As soon as you are done devouring every salty, flavorful and delicious leaf, you’ll find the tastiest part of it all…the heart! Now, don’t be nervous when you see that the outside of the heart is a little…furry looking. It’s not real fur. Just scrape it away and enjoy! The flavor is out of this world. You can either gobble up with your hands (like I did) or serve over pasta or a salad!
If you are looking for an easy, delicious and super healthy appetizer (or dinner, in my case) make this tonight. Plus, artichokes are super cheap too. So, you can buy the artichoke AND the $10 dollar bottle of wine instead of the $5 dollar bottle. A win win?
Greek Roasted Artichoke
Yields: 1 artichoke
Prep time: 5 – 7 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
What You’ll Need:
- 1 whole artichoke
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil [separated]
- 1 tablespoon of Greek spice
- Dashes of salt and pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- Aluminum foil
How to Make it:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Cut off the stem of the artichoke and about 1 inch of the top. Then carefully chop off the sharp ends of each leaf.
- Liberally add salt, pepper and Greek spice to the artichoke. Be sure to rub it into the leaves.
- Place garlic clove into the center of the artichoke.
- Pour olive oil onto the inside of the aluminum foil. Carefully wrap up artichoke, sealing the top. Place in a jelly roll pan and bake for about one hour and 15 minutes.
- LET COOL and enjoy!
Just a warning, once you “pop” you won’t be able to stop. I mean, the whole thing was gone in less than 5 minutes here.
Nutritional information per artichoke: 130 calories, 4 grams of fat, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of protein and 10 grams of dietary fiber.
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