Artichokes, Koo-style

I didn't get to describe in detail some of the deliciousness I experienced recently at Koo (San Francisco) with The Gourmand and Yamo, but there were three dishes in particular that I was really excited about. These three dishes, I have since then replicated at home with moderate success. Today's post is just a quick recipe post:

Koo-inspired artichokes...

1. Fill pressure cooker with 1 cup of katsuo-dashi (bonito broth, which I keep promising to share my recipe... I promise, I promise!)
2. Throw in artichokes to the pressure cooker (my pressure cooker fits 4)
3. Cook on high heat until the pressure cooker starts to make that pressure-cooking noise.
4. Turn heat to low and cook 2 min.
5. Turn off pressure cooker heat and let pressure come back to normal.
6. In the mean time, make the dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce:
1. Heat extra-virgin olive oil and sautee a handful of chopped garlic cloves.
2. Once the garlic is fragrant, add salt and generous amounts of dried rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage.
3. Turn off heat and let oil cool.
4. Add vinegar, mirin, and more salt (if needed) to taste until a slightly tangy, subtly sweet, fragrant taste is acheived.

In Koo's version, the artichokes were soaked in the sauce, but I decided to season it with a dipping sauce. It's less messy at home because your fingers don't get sticky with the sauce, since you're just dipping the tips of the artichoke leaves. If you don't have garlic allergies like I do (I can't eat raw garlic - it makes me throw up), this sauce can probably be made without sauteeing the garlic, but the frying gave it a really nice toasty scent.