Roasted artichoke hearts are an indulgence I savor when big, unblemished artichokes appear in my supermarket. The first "in-season" artichokes usually begin appearing in early February, with their peak months being March and April.

When I’m presented with perfect artichokes, I like to get to the "heart" of the matter, stripping off all of the tough outer leaves, removing the inner fuzzy choke, peeling the stem and cutting the hearts into quarters. Tossing the prepared artichokes in lemon juice keeps them from turning brown, but I like to use the lemon juice as a flavor component in my Lemon and Olive Oil-Roasted Artichoke Quarters.

The artichokes are a wonderful addition to an antipasto platter, or can be served as a plated first course. At my house, they don’t often make it to a plate or platter, as my family grabs them steaming hot right out of the Viking Sauté Casserole in which they’re roasted.

• 4 unblemished artichokes
• Juice from 1 medium-large lemon (about 1/2 cup)
• Olive oil (about 3 tablespoons)
• Sea Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh Thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove tough outer leaves from artichokes. (Remove all leaves that are dark green, but do not remove leaves that are green at the top and yellow on the bottom.) Cut top of remaining leaves at the point where the green and yellow come together. Dip cut end in the lemon juice. Cut off bottom tip of stem, and peel away green layer of stem until white inner layer is exposed.

Cut the artichokes in half and remove the inner fuzzy choke and any small prickly leaves. Slice in half again and toss with the lemon juice. Pour the artichokes and lemon juice in a casserole dish, drizzle with the olive oil, season with the salt, pepper and thyme and add the garlic. Stir and place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring once during cooking.

Makes about 6 appetizer servings.