While we were at Whole Foods in Paramus picking up a few last minute supplies for the Memorial Day BBQ, I saw a beautiful display of large, bright green artichokes and couldn’t resist picking up two. I’ve never cooked artichokes before, but I’ve been craving the deliciously garlicky version of stuffed artichokes from Carmine’s. I didn’t have a recipe handy though, so I just looked up a few on the internet and improvised, playing up the flavors I like best (garlic, parmesan, lemon).
I had no idea how to clean the artichoke, so I ended up cutting off about an inch from the top to remove most of the spiky tips, cut off the stem so that the artichoke would sit up by itself, and used a spoon to get out as much of the stringy choke from the middle. That was the hardest part, and I know I left a lot of it, but in the end it didn’t make much of a difference.
Cleaning out the artichokes
For the stuffing, I combined about a cup of breadcrumbs with half a cup of grated parmesan cheese, two large cloves of minced garlic (I used a garlic press to get a finer mince), approximately two tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, the zest of two lemons, and salt and pepper to taste.
Salt, grated parmesan, lemon zest, pepper, bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic
Then I drizzled in a bit of olive oil to form a thick paste out of the mixture.
Stuffing for the artichokes
Then came the fun part – stuffing the artichokes. I pried the leaves apart and just used my fingers to smush in as much of the mixture as I could, making sure to get it between every leaf. After all the leaves were full, I spread the leftover stuffing over the top of the artichoke.
Stuffed artichokes ready to be cooked
In my dutch oven, I heated up a few tablespoons of olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot) and tossed in four cloves of minced garlic. I stirred that around for about a minute (make sure the heat isn’t too high so the garlic doesn’t burn), then added 1.5 cups of white wine, 1 cup of chicken broth, and the juice of the two zested lemons. I also threw in a sprig of thyme for some extra flavor.
Cooking liquid for the artichokes
Place the artichokes in the dutch oven, cover, and simmer over medium heat. I kind of lost track of time as to how long I heated it, but it was a little over an hour. I checked on it periodically, making sure all the liquid hadn’t evaporated, and tugged a little on the outer leaves to check how tender they were.
Artichokes cooking in the dutch oven
I pulled them out when the leaves started pulling out very easily, and then I reduced down the remaining liquid and seasoned with salt and pepper. I poured the reduced liquid into two wide rimmed bowls, then topped with the stuffed artichokes.
Artichoke presented with the reduced cooking liquid
To eat, simply pull off a leaf, making sure to get a bit of stuffing, dip the root end in the liquid, and scrape the edible portion off with your teeth.
Artichoke leaf with stuffing on top
When you finish all the leaves and get down to the heart, scrape off the remaining choke, and enjoy!
Artichoke remains
For my first attempt, I think it was a pretty successful version, though still not as tasty as the one from Carmine’s. Next time I think I’ll add more garlic for a bigger flavor punch.
Tags: Artichokes, Italian