Roasted Artichokes and Chipotle Aioli Sauce

 The Artichoke

I was always a little intimidated by the fresh artichokes in the grocery store. I had no idea what to do with it! After a couple cooking shows and numerous pep talks to myself, I decided to try doing it at home :)

I chose a recipe online and as it turns out everyone told me that this is by far one of the tastiest ways to prepare artichokes. This recipe calls for both steaming and roasting it, which produces a tender and flavorful artichoke. The dip is quite nice too and not too spicy.

1 large artichoke
Olive oil to drizzle
Garlic powder and salt

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Take a large artichoke (or a couple), you can trim the pointy leaves if you want to. I didn't feel like it at the moment, so I didn't. Cut the stem of the artichoke so that it can 'sit' flat in a pot of water.

Pour about 2 inches of water in a pot, place the trimmed (or not) artichoke in the pot and bring everything to a boil. Cover the artichoke and 'steam' for about 20-25 minutes.

Take the artichoke out of the water and place it in a baking pan. I poured a bit of water in the bottom of the pan, which helped make the artichoke softer. Now, separate the leaves of the artichoke a bit and season with garlic powder and salt. Drizzle the olive oil over the artichoke as well.

Bake the artichoke for about 30 to 40 minutes until it becomes soft.

Chipotle Aioli

• 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
• 1/4 cup enchilada sauce
• juice of one lime (about 2 tbsp)
• dash cayenne (optional)
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder

Mix the veganaise, hot sauce, enchilada sauce, lime juice, cayenne and chipotle together. Serve alongside your artichoke!