Answering the desert island question, I listed artichokes as one of the ten foods I would not want to live without. Were I to be specific about which version of artichoke I'd want, this is the one. It's my own recipe, just something I made up and do from time to time without measuring, just adding until it tastes right. Today, in order to share, I measured.
This marinade makes enough for four artichokes.
About 2 cups halved grape tomatoes (great acid balance with a lot of skin for a course texture)
1 cup EVOO
1/4 cup good quality red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried French basil
4 garlic cloves
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Whiz all the ingredients in a blender. Don't overprocess--the little flecks of skin stick to the artichoke leaves in a nice way and add to a good mouthfeel. Pour over four cooked artichokes. For cooking the artichokes, I reccomend boiling in salted water with several bay leaves for about 45 minutes, depending on their size. You want the interior leaves to pull out nicely but you don't want them so cooked that they won't hold together while marinating. When done, turn the artichokes upside down to drain and cool a bit after cooking, then turn them right side up and arrange in a flat dish with sides, like a baking dish, so that the leaking marinade is contained. Splay the leaves a bit to allow even entry of the marinade (oh, and when you prep the raw artichokes, even if you're using a thornless variety do cut off the top half inch so that the curved leaf tips don't block access by the marinade.) Allow to marinate at room temperature for about two hours. The prepared artichokes can be chilled once marinated, but should be allowed to return to room temperature before eating for maximum flavor.
