Anginares Me Anitho - Artichokes With Dill

Anginares me anitho is the spring-on-a-plate Greek dish that shows up at every Easter table and tavern menu when artichokes are at their peak. The technique is classically Greek: the artichokes get gently braised with spring onions, lemon juice, and dill, then everything gets finished with avgolemono (the legendary Greek egg-lemon sauce that turns a simple braise into something elegant).

The lemon-water bath is the move every artichoke recipe demands. Cut artichokes oxidize and turn brown within minutes, ruining the dish’s appearance. The acidulated water (lemon juice plus optional flour) keeps the cut surfaces creamy white until they hit the pan.

The avgolemono finish is what separates this from a simple braised artichoke dish. Beating eggs with lemon juice, then slowly tempering them with hot cooking liquid creates a silky, glossy sauce that coats the artichokes. Drizzle the hot stock in slowly while beating constantly, otherwise the eggs scramble.

Chef Tips

• Use medium-sized globe artichokes, baby artichokes are tender but the flavor is less intense, while large ones have tougher leaves
• The melon ball scoop method for removing the choke is genuinely the easiest, scrape under the pink-tipped center leaves to remove the prickly fibers cleanly
• Don’t skip the optional flour in the holding water, it dramatically reduces oxidation compared to lemon water alone
• Reduce the cooking liquid by half before adding the cornstarch slurry, this concentrates the flavor and ensures the avgolemono has enough body
• Eat warm, not hot, the avgolemono breaks if reheated and the dish loses its silky character

Variations

• Substitute fennel fronds for half the dill for a Sicilian-Greek crossover
• Add 1 cup of fresh peas in the last 5 minutes of braising for an artichokes-and-peas version
• Use frozen artichoke hearts (thawed and drained) for a 30-minute weeknight version