Artichokes with Roasted Garlic-Wine Dip

Add the roasted garlic in two stages--half is cooked with wine and broth to soften the flavor, and the rest is added at the end for a more potent taste. If you plan to serve the remaining wine with this first course, choose a crisp, acidic pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, which pair well with artichokes. Otherwise, any dry white will work for the sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 artichoke and 3 tablespoons dip)

Ingredients

• 2  whole garlic heads
• 4  medium artichokes (about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 1/2  cup  dry white wine
• 1  cup organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
• 1  tablespoon  butter
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap each head separately in foil. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.

Cut off stems of artichokes, and remove bottom leaves. Trim about 1/2 inch from tops of artichokes. Place artichokes, stem ends down, in a large Dutch oven filled two-thirds with water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until a leaf near the center of each artichoke pulls out easily. Remove artichokes from pan.

Combine half of garlic pulp and wine in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes. Add broth; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 8 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter and salt. Pour mixture into a blender; add remaining half of garlic pulp. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Sprinkle dip with parsley, if desired. Serve dip with warm artichokes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

135 (21% from fat)

Fat:

3.1g (sat 1.9g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.2g)

Protein:

5.2g

Carbohydrate:

19.8g

Fiber:

7.2g

Cholesterol:

8mg

Iron:

1.9mg

Sodium:

403mg

Calcium:

84mg