ROASTED ARTICHOKES

This is a dish that is on heavy rotation at our house. We've been trying to cut back on our meat consumption and this is a great recipe and so pretty to serve for dinner guests. You can serve the artichokes on their own for a light meal or with a side of grilled fish or flank steak. Now that it's summer I prefer to use grill outside. Depending on the size of your artichoke, when using a grill you may only need to cook for 30-45 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

• Whole artichokes (1 per guest)

• Sea salt

• Fresh ground pepper

• Garlic cloves

• Olive oil

• Half of a lemon

• Roma tomatoes

• Shallots

• Fresh basil

• Balsamic vinegar

• Buffalo mozzarella (optional)

• Sourdough bread (for serving)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Trim the artichoke leaves and stems. Spread open the artichoke leaves and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and a few cloves of garlic. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and then squeeze half of a lemon over the artichokes. Wrap them tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil. Bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the artichokes. Open the foil occasionally and check on them.

For the topping, chop the Roma tomatoes and toss in a bowl with shallots, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. You can also add buffalo mozzarella for an extra dose of flavor. When the artichokes are done, gently spread them open and spoon the tomato basil topping over them. Serve warm with toasted sourdough bread.