Artichokes

Served chilled hot or cold, the globe artichoke is both a deficiency and a low calorie, nutritious vegetable. Actually, a globe artichoke is the flower bud of a large, thistlelike plant, with only a few edible portions the heart and the tender, fleshy part at the base of the tough outer leaves. Both the heart and the meaty leaves of the artichoke are edible, though it’s the leaves that contain many of the vegetable’s photo chemicals. Use a light sauce. To prepare a fresh artichoke, the thorny tops and the leaf tips are trimmed away, and the vegetable is boiled, steamed or baked. It can be served in many ways but one of the most popular is to dip the edible portion of the leaves in a sauce. It is this sauce that dictates whether an artichoke is a heartful treat or a high calorie indulgence.