For years I’ve walked by those packages of baby artichokes at Trader Joe’s not willing to try them because they just didn’t seem worth the effort. I’m glad to report that I was completely wrong. They actually take less time to prepare than regular artichokes because they cook up in only a few minutes versus 40 minutes for globe artichokes. According to Amy of Cooking with Amy (one of my favorite food bloggers), baby artichokes aren’t not fully grown artichokes at all, just a variety of chokes that mature in a smaller size. The benefit of using these small artichokes is that once you peel off the outer green layers of petals, the entire rest of the artichoke is edible, as the fuzzy choke part has not really developed. You can also simmer the discarded leaves in water for an hour to make an artichoke vegetable stock for soup, so nothing goes to waste. Artichokes pair well with something acidic, such as lemon or balsamic vinegar, and something creamy, such as mayonnaise or Parmesan cheese. These sautéed baby artichokes are easy to prepare and combine flavors that work naturally well with artichokes. They can be eaten alone, or mixed in with pasta or risotto, or baked on to pizza.

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