WHEN the good artichokes start arriving, I try to come up with something new to do with them. This year, I turned to a time-honored technique, just one I’d never applied to artichokes. It will be a permanent addition to my repertory.

I began by cutting off the prickly ends on the tops, then cut the artichokes in half, vertically. Then I used a spoon to dig out the choke, the fuzzy part above the heart. I pulled off the toughest outer leaves, and trimmed the bottom with a paring knife. Do not cut off any more of the bottom than you need to, because in a good artichoke, it’s as good as the heart.

As each half was ready, I put it, cut side down, in a large skillet filmed with butter. Oil is fine if you pick one that tastes good. When they were all in, and browned, I added stock (one time I added stock and white wine, which was just as good, and one time wine and water, which was almost as good), covered the pan, and cooked them, turning once.

When the artichokes were done, after about 20 minutes, I removed them from the pan, reduced the liquid, added some lemon and a little more butter, and used this as a sauce. The whole process was not a lot more difficult or time-consuming than steaming, but the results are fabulous.