The last time my business partner was in town we took a long walk around the Castro, Noe Valley and Diamond Heights areas of San Francisco with my close friend Tim. It was right before the holidays and as we strolled the hilly streets we worked ourselves up a huge appetite. The walk ended at one of my favorite restaurants, Chow. Chow serves incredible homestyle food with a twist and the appetizer we had on that slightly chilly day was perfect.
I am a big fan of the artichoke, especially the heart and love them steamed, fried and cooked into just about anything (my mom makes a mean crab and artichoke dip), but the version at Chow was, although very simple, absolutely delicious. The menu explained it in the simplest of terms... Roasted Artichoke with Lemon Aoli. Hmmm... roasted? None of us had ever had this vegetable in the roasted form, so we ordered it and absolutely loved the flavor and simple deliciousness.
Having just moved into a new apartment, I decided to have a housewarming and with the help of my friend Jeffrey we prepared and of course served the artichokes to our guests. They are so very easy to make.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the artichokes in half, remove the spiny ends of the leaves with kitchen scissors and place, cut side down, into an oiled roasting pan. Slice lemon rounds and place underneath each artichoke half. Finely dice a few cloves of garlic and place some underneath each choke. Add some freshly ground black pepper and a dash of sea salt to each choke and roast, covered with foil, for an hour.
Remove and serve with Olive oil and lemon for dipping.
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