• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Norecipes - Elevating Everyday Meals

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • Cuisine
  • Type
  • Start Here
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Ingredients
    • Cuisine
    • Type
    • Start Here
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » American

    Updated: Feb 1, 2022 by Marc · 18 Comments

    Artichokes and Cheesy Grits

    Buttery garlic fried artichokes on a bed of cheesy grits makes for a delicious vegetarian alternative to shrimp and grits.
    Recipe Pin

    One of the things I loved about living in San Jose was that the ocean was a short twenty minute drive over the Santa Cruz Mountains. Once over the mountains you felt a world away from tech capital of the world, as the hot stale air of the valley gave way to a cool ocean breeze. Heading north or south on Highway 1 from Santa Cruz brought with it endless miles of beautiful coastline lined with seaside farms.

    Nearly 100% of artichokes found in the US come from this area and the prickly shrub , a member of the thistle family, can be seen all the way down to Monterey. Whenever I headed down that way, I'd always stop by a road-side stand and pick up a giant bag of artichokes for a few bucks. Back then, I thought of artichokes as a second-rate vegetable that was cheap and fun to eat. Imagine my surprise when I moved out to New York and saw artichokes selling for several bucks a piece!

    Since there's not much to eat on an artichoke, I could never bring myself to shell out the cash for them here in New York, so it's been over 5 years since I've had one. That dry-spell came to an end when I found twelve-packs of baby artichokes at WholeFoods for $2! Delighted, I picked up a couple packs of the gorgeous green buds.

    With New York defrosting, spring is almost in the air; as I stared into my uncharacteristically barren fridge, I decided it was time for something vegetarian. This is my take on the Southern classic Shrimp and Grits, sans the crustaceans. It's not that artichokes in any way resemble shrimp, but something about garlicky artichokes on a bed of creamy grits just sounded right.

    The tender sauteed baby artichokes are studded with bits of browned garlic and are buttery and lightly caramelized around the edges. A splash of lemon added at the end gives them just enough tang to contrast the creamy bed of grits that they rest on. The grits aren't merely a side in this dish though, so I loaded them up with cheese to give them a healthy dose of umami. There's no bacon or shrimp to be found in this dish, but with the amount of flavor it packs, the meat won't be missed.

    📖 Recipe

    Artichokes and Cheesy Grits

    No ratings yet
    Print Pin Discuss

    Units

    Ingredients 

    for the sauteed artichokes

    • 12 baby artichokes
    • 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
    • salt (to taste)
    • black pepper (to taste)
    • pimentón (to taste)
    • ½ lemon (juiced)
    • 1 lemon (zested)
    • chives

    for the grits

    • 2 cups Water
    • 1 cup Milk
    • 1 cup Grits
    • 60 grams Grated cheese (I used Gruyere and Pecorino Romano)
    • ⅓ cup cream (half and half)
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (halve if using regular salt)
    • black pepper (to taste)

    Instructions

    • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the baby artichokes by removing all the tough outer leaves. You want to get down to the leaves that are mostly yellowish-green. Trim the stem and any dark green bits from the base of the artichoke, trim the top ⅓ of the artichoke leaves off and discard, then quarter the artichoke lengthwise. Put the artichokes in cold water with a splash of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. When the water comes to a boil, add the artichokes and boil for 2 minutes. Drain them and put them on paper towels while you prepare the grits.
    • Bring the water and milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle the grits on the boiling liquid and turn down the heat to medium low. Stir regularly with a silicon spatula to keep the grits from burning to the bottom of the pan. When they are cooked, the mixture should get very thick. You can test a bite to check; the bits of corn should still be firm, but not crunchy. Add the cheese and half and half and stir together. Taste it, then add salt to taste (I added about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, but it depends on how salty your cheese is).
    • Meanwhile, add the butter and olive oil to a saute pan over medium high heat, then add garlic and fry until fragrant but not browned. Add the artichokes then toss to coat with oil. Fry until the garlic is golden brown and the artichokes have browned a little around the edges, then salt and pepper to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and drizzle with lemon juice, tossing to coat evenly.
    • Plate by spreading a layer of grits down, then top with the garlic artichokes. Dust some pimentón on top, then sprinkle with lemon zest and chives.
    Recipes in your inboxDon't miss out SIGN UP!

    More American

    • With a rainbow of toppings and a zesty ginger dressing, this Chinese Chicken salad is a treat for all of your senses.
      Chinese Chicken Salad
    • Matcha oatmeal makes for a delicious healthy breakfast with loads of fiber and antioxidents with a kick of caffeine. Topped with coconut cream, fresh berries, and pumpkin seeds.
      Matcha Oatmeal
    • Dipping coconut fried shrimp in a orange chili sauce.
      Crispy Coconut Shrimp
    • This easy homemade poke bowl is topped with Shoyu Poke and various colorful vegetables and comes together in about 10 minutes.
      Poke Bowl

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Sally Vargas says

      February 28, 2011 at 12:41 pm

      I love the clean feel of this recipe, and the grits add a lot to make a satisfying meal. (I sometimes embellish the artichokes with bacon, but that's another story for another day.) I've noticed these packets in Whole Foods too, so now I'm inspired to buy them.The snow's still on the ground in Boston, but I expect artichokes could cheer me up while it melts.

      Reply
    2. Marilia says

      February 28, 2011 at 12:55 pm

      Baby artichokes are the cutest little things. I haven't seen them that cheap at Whole Foods here, maybe I need to take a peek this week. I love the simplicity of this meal, though. The artichokes really shine here -- they are after all, the star of the show! 🙂

      Reply
    3. tami says

      February 28, 2011 at 1:54 pm

      Thank you, thank you for a ______ & grits recipe that's not laden with bacon or sausage. I love cooking grits dishes but they're usually not so friendly for vegetarians. This looks incredible - I'm sure the texture contrast is awesome.

      Reply
    4. sweet road says

      February 28, 2011 at 3:36 pm

      This looks great, I was told to try making my own grits recently, so I'll just have to use this post as inspiration!

      Reply
    5. annemaxfield says

      February 28, 2011 at 3:42 pm

      Sounds great, I hope my Whole Foods has the baby artichokes. I use them for a meatball recipe and they're sometimes hard to find.

      Reply
    6. Marilia says

      February 28, 2011 at 5:05 pm

      This makes me miss both northern CA and the South!

      Reply
    7. Marilia says

      February 28, 2011 at 5:16 pm

      I would go with butter instead of half and half in those grits.

      Reply
    8. sally says

      March 01, 2011 at 3:50 pm

      I would have never thought of combining cheesy grits and artichokes--but this dish looks fantastic!

      Reply
    9. Marilia says

      March 01, 2011 at 11:39 pm

      Looks great. That's a whole lot of 'chokes in that dish. They are very expensive here in New Zealand too and with so little food on each globe, I've yet to be tempted to buy them for cooking. How do baby artichokes takes in comparison to grown up sized ones?

      Reply
    10. Thekitchenwitchblog says

      March 01, 2011 at 11:43 pm

      Call my Southern mama, she would love this. Actually I don't have a southern mama, but if I did she would love it. If I get a killer deal on artichokes I am making this! Love me some grits!

      Reply
    11. Marc Matsumoto says

      March 02, 2011 at 3:35 am

      They're smaller so you can actually eat some of the leaves towards the
      middle. Flavor wise they're a little less bitter.

      Reply
    12. Tastemonials says

      March 02, 2011 at 4:45 am

      I don't like grits, but if you call it polenta, this looks great!

      Reply
    13. gritslover says

      March 02, 2011 at 6:31 am

      This looks yummy. Last year, I grew an heirloom green dent corn (yes, cornmeal/grits comes in different colors) which I will grind into grits to make this dish. Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    14. erin says

      March 02, 2011 at 5:00 pm

      now i'm gonna be late for work b/c i MUST HAVE SOME GRITS!

      Reply
    15. Nipponnin says

      March 03, 2011 at 3:58 am

      I love artichokes. I grow it in my back yard and one plant produce 5-6 flowers. I will try this recipe when it's ready to harvest in late June to Aug. here. The dish looks really good!

      I just let you to know that I used your chocolate pudding recipe in my post. Thanks.

      Reply
    16. Kimberley says

      March 04, 2011 at 12:53 am

      I haven't seen those 12-packs of baby artichokes! Maybe it's a consolation prize for your slim produce options out there. 🙂

      Reply
    17. Marilia says

      March 04, 2011 at 1:56 pm

      You make me want to run to Whole Food right now! Although I think we may have a different selection being in different states... but this dish is definitely calling my name!

      Reply
    18. Betsy says

      March 06, 2012 at 4:30 am

      I did not know that about where artichokes are grown. No wonder we can usually get them pretty cheap here in San Diego. Short travel time. This recipe sounds great and I love your description on foodgawker "slightly healthier than shrimp and grits" Hey, any little bit helps right? We're hosting an online seasonal potluck and March is artichoke month. If you'd like to link up your recipe, we'd love to have you https://bit.ly/zRfNjo

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Marc Matsumoto, a retired chef living in Tokyo, and I founded No Recipes to empower home cooks of all levels by sharing essential techniques and my kitchen secrets.

    Start Here →

    Trending Recipes

    • Omurice is a mashup of savory sweet chicken fried rice with a creamy omelette.
      Omurice (オムライス)
    • Crisp juicy fried chicken glazed in a sweet and sour orange sauce that's redolent of fresh citrus thanks to a triple dose of orange.
      Orange Chicken
    • Dipping coconut fried shrimp in a orange chili sauce.
      Crispy Coconut Shrimp
    • Crispy panko chicken tenders served with lemon wedges and lettuce in a basket.
      Panko Chicken Tenders
    • Luxuriously smooth scoop of homemade matcha ice cream.
      Matcha Ice Cream (No-Churn)
    • Edamame

    Trending Categories

    • Summer
    • Japanese (Modern)
    • Japanese (Traditional)
    • Japanese (Chinese)
    • Stir Fry
    • Easy Weeknight

    Footer

    About

    • About
    • Help Me
    • Hire Me
    • Photography
    • FAQs

    Connect

    • Email Updates
    • Contact

    Legal

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy

    Copyright © 2023 Marc Matsumoto. All rights reserved