How cook artichokes: a concise orientation before we get practical.
How cook artichokes: Quick notes
Cook Artichokes Fast! I don’t know about you, but the idea of steaming these perennial flower buds for 45 minutes is not appealing to me. But when you use a pressure cooker, you cut the time to minutes.
Years ago someone gave us their “extra” pressure cooker, and it’s been an essential tool in our kitchen for more than 20 years. We use it to cook beans, grains, and of course artichokes in minutes. Here’s how to do it:
What You Need:
Ingredients for fast artichokes: a pressure cooker, artichokes (2-4), 1 1/2 cups water, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Ours is the 4 quart cooker from Presto.
Step 1: Prepare your Artichokes
Snap off the outer lower “petals” or bracts because these are often tough and fibrous. Use kitchen shears to trim tips of lower bracts that remain, and use a knife to cut the top 1/2″ to 1″ off. This gives you a flat surface for cooking, and removes the sharp tips. Add those trimmings to your compost bin.
Trim outer bracts and cut tips off
Step 2: Pot Them Up
Place a rack on the bottom of your pressure cooker. Set your artichokes on the rack, cut side down. You may need to trim off the stem to clear the lid. Pour 1 1/2 cups water into the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the tops with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Pour 1 1/2 water into bottom of pan.
Step 3: Cook
Lock the lid in place and fire up the stove. Use medium high heat to pressurize the cooker. The weight will start to rattle, or depending on your pressure cooker, the gauge will show the pressure increasing. Once at pressure (the weight gently rattles), set the timer for 10 minutes. For larger artichokes, it may take a minute or two more. Smaller artichokes may be done in 8 or 9 minutes. Reduce the heat, but high enough to keep the weight rattling at a gentle pace.
Experiment with timing to see how your pressure cooker performs.
Step 4: Stop and Serve
When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and cool the pressure cooker quickly under a stream of cold water over the sink. Release the lid after the cover lock drops and you’re ready to serve!
Finished artichokes are ready to devour
While They Cool a Bit…
In a small prep bowl, melt 1 tsp. butter, drizzled with garlic oil (or add minced garlic) and sprinkle with salt and pepper if needed.
Melt a teaspoon of butter with a drizzle of garlic oil and salt. 
Steamed artichokes with garlic butter and chickpea curry
Whether you grow them yourself, or just enjoy the season, make artichokes fast with a pressure cooker. It’s worth every penny to save time and energy season after season.
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