By I closed on a beautiful home in Davis Island this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.
Mama called at noon to tell me Aunt Sophia has heartburn again. She reported this with the urgency of a woman who considers every piece of information critical and every phone call an opportunity to also critique my cooking from forty miles away.
Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.
I roasted a whole branzino with lemon and herbs tonight. The fish was from the market, scored and stuffed with lemon slices and oregano. The kitchen smelled like oregano and summer and I thought: this is what survives. Not the money or the stress or the arguments about phyllo. The food survives. The recipes survive. The love baked into every dish survives.
The house was quiet this evening. I sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and the remains of dinner and I thought about all the tables I have sat at — Mama's table in Tarpon Springs, the table in the South Tampa house I lost, the table in the apartment where I started over, this table where I have fed my children for years. Every table is a different chapter. The food connects them all.
The night I roasted the branzino, I had planned to keep things simple — just the fish, a glass of wine, a quiet kitchen. But a meal like that deserves something alongside it, something that slows you down and makes you use your hands. These fresh artichokes with a lemon-yogurt dip are exactly that: patient, lemony, a little old-fashioned in the best way. Mama would not admit it, but she would approve.
Fresh Artichokes with Lemon-Yogurt Dip
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 medium fresh artichokes
- 1 lemon, halved (plus extra wedges for serving)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Trim the artichokes. Cut off the top inch of each artichoke and snip the sharp tips from the outer leaves with kitchen scissors. Rub all cut surfaces immediately with the halved lemon to prevent browning. Trim the stems to about 1 inch.
- Prepare the pot. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the artichokes. Add the smashed garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the squeezed lemon halves, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cook the artichokes. Add the artichokes to the boiling water, stem side up. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer 35–40 minutes until the outer leaves pull away easily and the base is tender when pierced with a knife. Drain upside-down on a clean towel for a few minutes.
- Make the lemon-yogurt dip. While the artichokes cook, whisk together the Greek yogurt, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest, oregano, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in the chopped parsley just before serving.
- Serve. Arrange the warm artichokes on a platter with the lemon-yogurt dip alongside and extra lemon wedges. To eat, pull leaves one at a time, dip the base in the yogurt, and draw between your teeth. Scoop out the fuzzy choke before eating the heart.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 430mg