Don’t be intimidated by the artichoke’s spiky exterior. These versatile vegetables are great dipped in butter or piled on chips as a dip, and there’s so much more you can do with them. Fried, added to soup, folded into pasta or risotto, artichokes are definitely worth the prep work. Our step-by-step guide on trimming and preparing an artichoke can help you get beneath those tough outer leaves into the meaty, tender flesh of the vegetable. If you need a crash course in artichokes, check out our spring produce guide. It’ll give you all the artichoke advice you need, from purchasing and storage to sourcing the best of the bunch and keeping them fresh at home. Here are our favorite ways to eat artichokes.