Perfectly tender roasted artichokes, prepared Mediterranean-style with olive oil, capers and a garlic vinaigrette.

Once you've learned a few simple tips to clean and prepare artichokes, you'll be making this roasted artichoke recipe all the time!

Mediterranean-style roasted artichokes topped with shallots, feta, capers, and dill

I always keep jars of marinated artichoke hearts in my pantry. They’re convenient and can add a bit of something special to your pasta, salad, or even an egg casserole.

And I’m just as in love with beautiful fresh globe artichokes!

Artichokes are loaded with nutrition like vitamin C, fiber, and potassium, but we often overlook them because they can be intimidating to buy and cook. But they’re actually not!

There are a few key steps (below) to prepare artichokes for cooking, but once you nail those, you're on your way to making the best artichoke recipe.

Artichoke recipe with a Mediterranean twist

These beautiful tender roasted artichokes are next-level delicious, thanks to bright Mediterranean flavors.

The flavor makers here include Greek extra virgin olive oil to aid the roasting, and then a tangy garlic and dill vinaigrette. I ended up using the garlic cloves that have been roasted right with the artichokes, win-win!

With little effort, this roasted artichoke recipe can make a special appetizer to start your dinner (I especially love this to start a lemony salmon dinner or chicken). Or, if you're short on time, you can opt for the canned variety, like with this canned roasted artichoke hearts recipe.

Let’s cover a few important basics, first.

green artichoke globes  on a cloth

How to select artichokes?

Part of the issue many people run into is buying good fresh artichokes to begin with. Prime season for artichokes is from March to May and then again in October and November. Here are a few tips:

  • Select artichokes that are heavy for their size
  • Artichoke leaves should be deep in color and tightly gathered together (not spread out)
  • The size does not matter as far as taste or quality, but a smaller artichoke will cook more quickly
  • To test for freshness, give the artichoke a bit of a squeeze, it should make a squeaky noise like a brand new sneaker

What is the best way to cook artichokes?

There are a number of ways to cook artichokes. You can boil or steam them, braise and stuff them, cook them in the pressure cooker, or roast them. Many possibilities. What is the right artichoke recipe for you?

Personally, my favorite is roasted artichokes with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Roasting in the oven allows the artichokes to develop some deep and nutty flavors. They are so delicate and delicious.

One thing makes all the difference: warp them in aluminum foil!

Wrapping the artichoke halves in foil helps the vegetable cells to release moisture and traps the steam so that keeps the leaves moist so the artichokes are cooked to tender perfection. 

How to prepare artichokes for roasting?

For this baked artichoke recipe, there are a few simple steps to prepare the artichokes before roasting

  • First, cut the stem (some people peel it, so you can do that if you’d like to keep the stem on)
  • Remove the tough layers. Peel the outer layers off by hand until you reach the inner more tender layers (they’re usually lighter in color)
  • Trim the sharp tips. Use a serrated knife to cut off about ¾ of an inch from the top of the artichoke. Use kitchen shears to trim off any pokey tips from the lower leaves.
  • Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise
  • Remove the fuzzy choke. Use a paring knife to remove
roasted artichoke halves in foil with garlic in the middle

Once you’ve followed the steps to prepare them, what’s left to make this roasted artichoke recipe is to season the artichoke hearts, place each in a large enough piece of aluminum foil, place a garlic clove in each half and drizzle a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil.

Be sure to wrap the foil packets around the artichokes well and then roast in the oven for about 40 minutes until perfectly tender.

That garlic you roasted along with the artichokes becomes a part of a tasty vinaigrette to finish the roasted artichokes.

I love adding some capers, shallots, and crumbled feta to complete this Mediterranean artichoke recipe.

How to eat roasted artichokes?

It may sound silly to talk about exactly how to eat roasted artichokes, but it’s not as obvious just by looking at them.

The roasted artichoke leaves are edible, you must peel them off by hand and scrape them with your teeth to eat the tender parts and discard the remaining petal (they need to be cool enough to handle). If you need a dipping sauce, set some of the tasty roasted garlic and dill vinaigrette aside for that.

Roasted artichoke hearts are edible and you can use your fork and knife to cut through and enjoy.

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Mediterranean-style roasted artichokes topped with shallots, feta, capers, and dill

Mediterranean Roasted Artichoke Recipe


Description

Mediterranean roasted artichoke recipe with capers and roasted garlic-dill vinaigrette. Perfectly tender and


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 large globe artichokes
  • 3 tsp lemon juice
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil)
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • Crumbled feta cheese to taste

For the Vinaigrette 

  • Same 6 garlic cloves roasted earlier with the artichoke (see above ingredients)
  • ½ cup chopped fresh dill
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon  juice
  • 1 tsp honey
  • Salt and Black Pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. To clean artichokes, first, cut off the stem/stalk. Peel off the tough outer layers by hand. When you reach the softer layers, use a serrated knife to cut off about ¾ inches from the top. Now, cut artichoke in half length-wise. Then, using a spoon, remove the fuzzy choke on the inside.artichoke. One artichoke halved and cleaned and two whole artichokes next to it
  3. As you clean the inside of each artichoke half, immediately add ½ teaspoon lemon juice to cover the surface to prevent the artichoke from discoloring.
  4. On a large baking sheet, place each artichoke half in a piece of lightly-oiled foil paper that is large enough to fold around.
  5. Season artichokes with salt and pepper, and nestle 1 garlic clove in the center of each artichoke half. Drizzle generously with quality olive oil (it's okay if some of the olive oil pools in the center or overflows onto the foil). Close the foil around artichokes.
  6. Roast in the 400 degrees F heated-oven for 40 minutes.roasted artichoke halves in foil with garlic in the middle
  7. Carefully open the foil pouches using tongs. Remove the roasted garlic from the center of artichoke, and close the foils back until ready to serve. Let garlic cool.
  8. In the bowl of a small food processor, add the roasted garlic with the remaining vinaigrette ingredients. Pulse until smooth.
  9. Remove the artichokes from foil. Arrange on a serving platter, generously drizzle the roasted garlic-dill vinaigrette. Top with shallots, capers and crumbled feta cheese. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Category: Side dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keywords: roasted artichokes, artichoke recipe, how to cook artichokes

This post originally appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2017 and has been recently updated with new information and media for readers' benefit. Enjoy!

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I'm Suzy; born and bred right on the shores of the Mediterranean. I'm all about easy, healthy recipes with big Mediterranean flavors. Three values guide my cooking: eat with the seasons; use whole foods; and above all, share! So happy you're here...
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Comments

  1. Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe! Instead of wrapping the artichoke halves individually, I placed them on a lined dish and covered the dish with foil, sealing it well at the sides of the dish. I put quarter cup of water at the bottom if the dish so that the artichokes could steam and cook well. The flavours of lemon and garlic were really good. This will be my go to recipe for artichokes from now on.

  2. I made the artichoke dish for my family. We loved it! I always mess up cooking artichokes, so this recipe having to foil up the artichokes cooked them perfectly. I followed the recipe to a "T", except I added olive oil to the vinagrette. I felt it was too thin and a bit over lemony and adding the oil made it more of a dressing. It was not easy cleaning and preparing the artichokes, but all that work was worth it. I roasted for 40 minutes, well ahead of my party and while still in foil (I took the garlic out) I popped back in the oven for about 12 minutes so that they were warmed up before adding the vinaigrette. I will try it again when I can get artichokes in my market

  3. Love the roasted artichoke recipes & how to, it was just what I was looking for. Also, since the oven was on, what else to make? Roasted veggies. Also a good recipe!
    I cooked professionally prior to college and feel zip am well versed in the kitchen but the ideas,info and selections of what you cover is a good fit for me. Thank you!

  4. The best way to serve artichokes I've come across. Well done!
    The dressing is devine!!!

  5. Very good. It takes a bit to clean the artichokes but the end result is worth the work. Nice spring meal since artichokes are in season.

  6. Your recipe is inconsistent. It calls for sliced shallot but does not say when to add it to the artichokes.

  7. I did this and they turned out awful 🙁
    So disappointed. Maybe I overcooked them... wasn't sure how long to roast them for ...they never got soft.

  8. This has inspired me to try roasting already marinated artichoke hearts, well drained and without foil. And to try roasting defrosted artichokes. Thank you for the inspiration.

  9. Delicious. First time I tried to make artichoke and it turned out great. But that vinegrette! Omg. Im using it on everything now. 😘👌