Up to five days ahead of time:

Prepare the artichokes.

Either set up a steamer large enough to hold all three artichokes (or however many you have) or put a large pot of salted water to boil. If you are worried about artichoke browning (it disappears in cooking), add fresh lemon juice or a few drops of mild vinegar.

Using a serrated knife, cut the tops of the artichokes off. You want to get the sharp, pointy tips out of the way.

Now break the outer leaves off the artichokes. If you’ve never done this before, you’ll notice artichoke leaves are like asparagus spears: each breaks at a given point. You don’t have to force it. Break the artichoke leaves off all around each vegetable until you see the lighter green leaves. Discard these outer leaves, or put them in the compost.

Now trim the stalk, if there is one–sometimes markets cut stalks pretty close to the bottom of the choke. Trim the bottom off.

You can boil or steam the artichokes. I boiled them, which took about 40 minutes. In my experience, it is impossible overcook an artichoke: it will fall apart after a while, but that’s all.

Artichokes are done cooking when a tester easily pierces the heart or a leaf is easily pulled free.

Place either artichokes upside down on a clean dishtowel or in a strainer. Allow them to cool.

At this point you can hold the artichokes up to five days.

If you plan to make risotto within 4 hours, it’s safe to leave artichokes out (unless it’s 100 degrees; use good judgement). Otherwise, let artichokes cool, then refrigerate in a covered container.

If preparing risotto now:

While the artichokes cool:

Peel and mince garlic and shallot.  Set aside.

Place pots on stove. Add chicken broth and water to smaller pot, and turn heat to low so broth can warm gently.

Check the artichokes: if still too hot to handle, run them under cool water and pat dry with clean dishtowels or paper towels.

To scrape artichoke leaves, pull a leaf from the choke. You will be able to feel and likely see where the “meaty” portion of the artichoke leaf starts, at the bottom of the leaf, and where it tapers off, about halfway up. Lay the flat side of the dinner knife on the leaf’s midpoint, where the meaty bit ends. Gently scrape downward.

You won’t need to exert much effort to free a bit of greenish purple fluff. Don’t be discouraged: these bits add up. Toss it in your bowl. Keep going until you reach the translucent inner leaves covering the artichoke heart. These delicate leaves have no meat; don’t bother with them. Using the knife, spoon, or your clean fingers, carefully scrape out the hairy choke and discard it.

The artichoke heart may be sliced thinly or quartered; the choice is yours. Add it to the bowl of scraped meat and continue until all the leaves are done. Three artichokes weighing about 16 ounces/450g trimmed yielded 6 ounces/200 grams “meat.”

Prepare the risotto

If the broth isn’t simmering, turn up the heat just enough for broth to reach gentle simmer.

Now turn to your risotto pan. Pour about 2 tablespoons olive in it and the butter, if using.The bottom of the pan should be coated. Add more oil/butter if needed.

Turn the heat to medium low. You want to warm the olive oil/butter mixture gently.

Once the butter is melted/the olive oil is warmed, add the shallot and garlic. They should cook without browning; what Elizabeth David called “melting.” Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring.

Now add the rice and the wine. Stir continuously, so the rice is coated in fat and wine. Nothing should brown, but the heat should be high enough to get the rice nicely heated. You should be able to smell the wine, which should be absorbed by the rice. Season with salt and pepper.

When you can make a track through the rice with your spoon, start adding broth, a ladleful at a time. My ladle holds 8 ounces/227ml, which works well with the pan I use. Add  enough broth to “feed” the risotto without swamping it. If you were to stick your index finger into the risotto after a ladle of broth, the liquid level should reach just above your fingernail.

This is approximate.

Using a wooden or comparable spoon, stir gently. Constant stirring isn’t necessay, but hang around. Each time you can make a track in the rice without liquid filling it in, add another ladle of broth. Keep it up until the rice is done, which takes 20-35 minutes, depending on your rice. You’ll need to taste to know.

The rice is done when it’s soft but still has a bit of “bite” at its core. This doesn’t mean chewy. It means pleasantly textured, not cooked to baby food.

Once the rice is done, add the artichoke scrapings and heart. Stir well. Taste for salt and pepper. White pepper is nice for appearances, but not necessary. You might want to add a squeeze of lemon to the risotto. You might not.

Add a final ladle of broth. At this point the risotto can sit for 45 minutes if it must, though in an ideal world your husband is already parked in front of the hockey game awaiting dinner (Yeah, we eat with the tv on. But only during hockey season. Have I ever mentioned he was born in Canada? Really. He was.)

If you are holding the risotto, cover with a lid or foil and place over lowest possible heat. You can place the pan in the oven, too. Use the warming feature, if you have one, or use the lowest heat setting.

Serve Artichoke Risotto on hot plates (or don’t, if you’re me and can’t be bothered). Parmesan cheese and parsley are nice but unnecessary touches.

Leftover artichoke risotto should be refrigerated immediately and consumed within three days.

Rice doesn’t like hanging around at room temperature, and is not a good keeper. Consider yourself warned.

Notes

I realize artichokes are not widely available. If you cannot get three medium artichokes, buy whatever size is for sale. If you have a choice, smaller artichokes are better than larger specimens. If fresh artichokes are not available, frozen artichoke bottoms may be used. Bottled marinated artichoke hearts may be used as a last resort, provided you rinse them thoroughly before use. Otherwise you’ll end up with a risotto tasting of salad dressing.

Small artichokes don’t need scraping. Instead, trim them as needed, then halve or quarter them for ease of eating. Steam or boil them. They’ll cook in 20-30 minutes.

If you cannot or don’t want to use artichokes, consider asparagus, fresh or frozen peas, fava beans (or a combination of these vegetables). Or use your favorite vegetable.

Butter is used for flavor, but can be eliminated if you are cooking for vegans. This applies to the cheese and broth.

If you run out of broth before the risotto is finished cooked, top up with water.

Readers interested in rice in general and risotto in particular are directed to Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Seductions of Rice, Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Sri Owen’s The Rice Book, and Judy Rogers’s The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, which devotes a section to risotto making.