One of my favorite appetizers for a nice Italian meal is a stuffed artichoke. They tend to be in season in early spring, and are an easy, fun addition to a meal.
What you’ll need:
- 3-4 artichokes
- 1 lemon
- 2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves minced garlic
What to do:
You’ll need to prepare your artichokes for cooking. Cut the stem and about 1/2 inch off the bottom of the artichokes so they can stand upright. Then cut about 1-2 inches off the top. Using kitchen scissors snip the tip off of each remaining untouched leaf.
Spread the artichoke open and pull out the middle, purple leaves. Then pull/scoop out the hairy middle. during this time you can preheat your oven to 375°.
In a bowl combine breadcrumbs, grated cheese, olive oil, garlic, and a few pinches of salt. Mix these ingredients together. The consistency should be slightly wet and malleable.
Using clean hands, begin to take some of the mixture and stuff between the leaves of each artichoke. I enjoy a fully packed artichoke. If you need more mixture for the stuffing, increase as you see fit.
Place the artichokes flat side down in a Dutch oven. Pour water at the bottom of the Dutch oven, about half an inch to an inch high. Then, cutting your lemon in half, squeeze the juice over the artichokes.
Close your Dutch oven and place in your preheated oven. The artichokes should take around 45 minutes or so to cook. You want the breadcrumbs to be nicely toasted.
Once finished, you can serve the artichokes and enjoy by pulling each leaf off individually and scraping the stuffing and meat of the artichoke with your top teeth.
