Amayoizing Artichoke Sauce

[Beckla]

Amayozing Artichoke Sauce


A favorite SAD food of mine was steamed artichoke leaves dipped in mayo. So I made a raw version that works nicely as a sauce over pasta or veggies. Seems like a lot of steps, but it's really easy - and worth it.

Step one:
Peel one artichoke. Get heart.
Place the leaves/heart (cut up) in a flat baking dish (I used a 9x13 baking dish). Pour in 1/2-1 C evoo (depending on how big the 'choke is), 1/2 tsp. sea salt, and the juice of 1 small (or 1/2 of 1 large) lemon. Make sure the leaves are coated, and cover the dish in saran wrap. Leave to marinate at least 2 hours.

Step two:
In food processor blend:
1 avocado
1/2 cup of almonds
1 cup of cashews
1 tsp of honey

Strain the mixture using a cheesecloth or similar method (I use that thing you use to screen grease splatter when you cook - works well!).

Step three:
Remove artichokes from marinade and trim off any sharp tips/hard parts with a knife - once you've marinated them, the parts that don't have "meat" on them are more apparent - a darker color. Trim those off so you're getting the good stuff!

Then, blend in a food processor:
the artichoke leaves and heart bits
strained "milk" mixture (step 2)
1 tsp of paprika

Step four:
Strain all of that all over again the same way you did in step two - viola!! It thickens up in the fridge.
Optional: stir in one cup of soaked sundried tomatoes.
Can be made thinner and poured over pasta. Attached is a photo of it used as a sauce on zucchini noodles with fresh tomatoes and basil.