Braised Baby Artichokes with Lemon

The artichoke is a thistle. People forget this. It grows wild along the California coast, and when you find the babies in spring, small enough to fit in your palm, they are one of the purest pleasures the season offers.

Baby artichokes have not yet developed the fuzzy choke that makes their larger siblings so labor-intensive. You trim them, braise them gently in olive oil, and they become silky and sweet. The technique is almost nothing. The sourcing is everything.

Find a farmer who grows them. Ask when they were picked. They should feel heavy and tight, with leaves that squeak when you press them together. If the outer leaves look dry or have started to spread open, the artichoke is tired. Wait for the next market day.

Every meal is a meaningful choice. When you buy these from someone who grew them, you keep that farm alive. You also get to taste what an artichoke is supposed to taste like: nutty, faintly sweet, with a mineral quality that disappears entirely once it has traveled too far.