Roasted Baby Artichokes With a Lemon Herb Beurre Blanc

Don't let Beurre Blanc scare you. It is a basic white wine and butter sauce. Now my other favorite is artichokes. This is a simple quick dish that utilizes frozen baby artichokes. Now I like Birds Eye, but any brand will work. Now if they are fresh, obviously they will take longer to make. But this is a quick elegant side dish you can make any night of the week or you can make this for a dinner party. I roast the artichokes with some simple seasoning and olive oil and then drizzle with the sauce. As the artichokes roast in the oven, make the sauce. A Beurre Blanc sauce is very classic; the base sauce with out any seasoning is often used over steak, add some lemon and dill to go over seafood, you can even add some cumin and chili powder to go over a mexican grilled fish or pork dish. Fresh herbs for this are important.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 6-8
• Yields: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 (9 ounce) boxes frozen artichoke hearts
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon pepper (you can use ground black pepper if you don't have lemon pepper)
• 1  teaspoon kosher salt

• Sauce

• 1⁄4 cup white wine
• 1  tablespoon heavy cream
• 1  tablespoon shallot, minced fine
• 2  tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1  cup butter (cold and cut into small pats)
• 1  tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2  teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2  teaspoons fresh parsley
• 2  teaspoons fresh chives

Directions

1. Artichokes -- In a large bowl add the artichokes (thawed) and add the olive oil, lemon pepper and salt and toss well to combine. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil and cook at 425 for 15-20 minutes until they are warmed through and starting to get brown. Remove to a serving platter.
2. Sauce -- In a small sauce pan, add the white wine, vinegar and the shallots and heat to medium to medium-high until the sauce is reduced by half. It doesn't take long 3-4 minutes is all. Add the cream and cook another 1-2 minutes -- Don't boil. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter until creamy and melted. Then add in the lemon and fresh herbs.
3. Serve -- Drizzle the sauce over the roasted artichokes. If you have any sauce left, serve a small sauce container on the serving platter for people to help themselves.
4. Remember all "veggies" are good with this. Asparagus, cauliflower, beans, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.
5. ENJOY!