Top 15 Artichoke Recipes: Dips, Stuffed Globes, Pasta and More

Fresh artichokes are the right call when the artichoke itself is the dish — whole steamed globes for pulling leaves, stuffed Italian-style, or halved and grilled. Look for tight, heavy heads with squeaky, closed leaves and a fresh-cut stem; loose, dry or browning leaves mean it is past its best. Fresh gives you the full, nutty flavor and the ceremony, but it also means trimming, a longer cook, and the inedible choke to scoop out.

Jarred (marinated or in brine) and canned hearts are the workhorses for everything else — dips, pasta, salads, pizzas. They are already cooked and trimmed, so they save the better part of an hour, and their flavor, while milder, is exactly right folded into a creamy or cheesy base. Marinated hearts in oil bring their own garlic-herb tang and are great straight onto an antipasto plate; canned or brined hearts are more neutral and best when you are adding your own seasoning.

The one habit that matters with preserved hearts is drying them. Whether jarred or canned, they hold a surprising amount of liquid, and that liquid is the number-one reason a spinach-artichoke dip turns out soupy or a pasta tastes washed out. Drain them well, squeeze gently in a clean towel or press in a sieve, and roughly chop. Two minutes of draining is the difference between a dip that mounds on a chip and one that runs off it.

Trimming a fresh artichoke is less daunting than it looks once you know the moves. Slice off the top inch or so to remove the spiny tips, snap off the small tough outer leaves around the base, and trim the stem flat (the stem is edible — peel its bitter outer layer and keep it). Snip the thorny tips of the remaining leaves with kitchen scissors if you like. Rub every cut surface with a lemon half as you go, because exposed artichoke flesh browns within minutes.

Keep a bowl of acidulated water — water with the juice of a lemon — beside you and drop trimmed artichokes in to stop them oxidizing while you work through a batch. To cook, steam them upright in a few inches of water (a steamer basket or just a snug pot) with lemon, garlic and a bay leaf for 25 to 45 minutes depending on size. They are done when an outer leaf pulls away easily and the base is tender to a knife tip.

The choke — the fuzzy, inedible center sitting on the heart — is removed either before cooking (spread the leaves and scoop it with a spoon or melon baller) or after, once the artichoke is soft and it lifts out cleanly. For whole, leaf-by-leaf eating you can leave it until the end; for stuffing, remove it first to make a cavity. Never eat the choke itself, only the tender heart beneath it and the soft flesh at the base of each leaf.

A great spinach-artichoke dip is built on managing moisture and balancing richness. Start by squeezing every drop from your spinach — thawed frozen spinach especially holds water, and wringing it hard in a towel is non-negotiable — and draining and chopping the artichoke hearts. Wet greens and wet hearts are what leave you with a thin, weeping dip instead of a thick, scoopable one.

For the base, the classic trio is cream cheese for body, sour cream or mayonnaise for tang, and a melting cheese such as mozzarella plus a sharp, salty one like parmesan or pecorino for depth. Soften the cream cheese first so it blends smooth without lumps, fold in the squeezed spinach and chopped artichokes, season with garlic, a little lemon and plenty of black pepper, and do not under-salt — artichokes and dairy both need it.

Bake until bubbling and golden on top, around 20 to 25 minutes at a moderate oven, finishing under the broiler for a minute if you want browned spots. Serve it genuinely hot, when the cheese is stretchy and the whole thing is at its best, with sturdy chips, toasted bread or crudités. The most common mistake beyond watery ingredients is overbaking, which makes the dairy split and turn greasy — pull it the moment it bubbles.

Most artichoke dishes are friendly to advance prep. Dips can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated unbaked, then baked to order — bring them close to room temperature first so the center heats through evenly. Stuffed artichokes can be trimmed, filled and held in the fridge before their final bake, and steamed whole artichokes keep well chilled to eat cold the next day with a vinaigrette or aioli.

Fresh, uncooked artichokes keep about a week in the fridge in a loose bag; sprinkle a few drops of water on them to keep them from drying out. Cooked artichokes and dips last three to four days refrigerated. Marinated hearts in oil keep for weeks. Leftover dip reheats best in the oven or a low pan with a splash of milk to loosen it, since the microwave tends to make the cheese greasy and break the texture.

On serving: whole steamed artichokes want a dip for the leaves — melted butter with lemon, garlic aioli or a mustard vinaigrette — and a bowl for the discarded leaves on the table. Dips belong hot at the center of a spread. Pasta and chicken mains finish with lemon, parmesan and fresh herbs off the heat. And marinated salads only get better after an hour for the flavors to meld, so they are the ones to make first.