Wine Braised Artichokes with Cashew Mandarin Tarragon Aioli

If I had to eat one vegetable for the rest of my life, it would be artichokes. No hesitation. If you're not new here, you may already know how much I love artichokes - so much so that we named our cats Artichoke & Aioli (which has proven to be mildly confusing for our 2 year old now that artichoke season is in full swing). We've eaten these white wine braised artichokes dipped in cashew mandarin tarragon aioli for the past three nights and no one is sick of them.

Growing up in NorCal, not far from Artichoke country, I was lucky enough to eat artichokes quite often as a kid. Back then, we threw whole untrimmed artichokes in a pot and boiled the heck out of them, then dipped the leaves in straight-up mayonnaise. That's how I learned to eat artichokes and fell in love - and it's also a perfectly acceptable method of preparing/eating artichokes. Artichokes are so delicious on their own that any special preparation or sauce only serves to takes things up a notch. That's just what I'm doing here with these white wine braised artichokes - that I cut right from the plant myself.

For this aioli, I've replaced lemon juice with mandarin juice and zest and complemented the sweetness with fresh tarragon that simultaneously tastes bright and savory.

This mandarin tarragon aioli is vegan with a cashew cream base, but not because I'm vegan. I'm actually known to dip my artichokes in melted butter more often than not! The thing is, I love aioli (who doesn't?), but I hate the taste of store-bought mayonnaise, especially at 6.5 months pregnant. And since I'm pregnant, I can't eat homemade aioli with raw egg yolks, so I've swapped in soaked cashews for the creaminess. It's perfection.

I first tested a version with a good-quality olive oil mayo, which Lucas liked, but I couldn't stomach the mayo flavor. I then picked up some cashews and vegan mayo so I could try different versions and I didn't tell Lucas which I ended up using.

When he dug into his artichokes for round 2, he let out a satisfied sigh, "why is vegan mayo so much better??" He was right about one thing: tonight's aioli was so much better than the last version. But I didn't use the vegan mayo because cashews won me over! He was shocked.

Recipe

White Wine Braised Artichokes with Tarragon Aioli

yields: 4 servings

No reviews yet

PRINT PIN SAVESaved!

Ingredients

Cashew Mandarin Tarragon Aioli

• ▢ ½ cup raw cashews
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons mandarin zest, from 2-3 mandarins
• ▢ 3 tablespoons mandarin juice, from 2-3 mandarins
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cold water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 clove garlic
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

White Wine Braised Artichokes

• ▢ 4 medium artichokes
• ▢ 7 lemons, divided
• ▢ 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• ▢ ½ cup white wine
• ▢ Water, as needed
• ▢ Flaky salt, for garnish.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

INSTRUCTIONS

• First, cover the cashews boiling water and set aside. Zest and juice 3 mandarins and set arise while you prepare the artichokes.
• Into a small cup, juice and quarter 3 lemons and set aside for cooking in the pan. Fill a large mixing bowl halfway with cold water and juice 3 lemons into the mixing bowl, tossing the lemon rind in too. Quarter the remaining lemon and set aside.
• Prepare and trim each artichoke. First, trim the very bottom off the stem, leaving 1-1.5 inches (if you've got a stem!). Remove any small tough outer leaves from the bottom of the artichoke and discard. Use a pairing knife or t-peeler to carefully peel a thin layer off the outside of the stem. Rub the quartered unjuiced lemon on the cut edge. Trim the top ½ inch off the top of the artichokes, then use kitchen sheers to cut off the tips of any spiky leaves. Halve the artichoke and rub the top and cut face with lemon. Use a small sharp pairing knife to cut the fuzzy choke out of the very center of the heart of the artichoke and discard. Place the artichoke in water bath while you prepare the rest.
• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet with a lid. Add the artichokes, cut side down, nestling them together to make room. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the artichokes begin to brown.
• Sprinkle the garlic around the artichokes, then pour wine and reserved lemon juice over the top. Nestle in the lemon rings. Add water to bring the liquid ¾ of the way up the artichoke (I added about ¾ cup). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and let cook for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the heart of the artichoke goes in smoothly.
• Meanwhile, prepare the aioli. Drain the cashews well. Add them to a high-powered blender or food processor with mandarin zest, mandarin juice, 2 tablespoons cold water, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and salt. Blend until completely smooth then add the chopped tarragon and pulse to combine. Transfer the aioli to a bowl and chill while the artichokes cook.
• When the artichokes are finished, transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with flakey salt. Serve warm or at room temperature with chilled aioli.