Stuffed Artichokes

May 02, 2013



I love food fads!  They introduce me to foods that I never knew existed!  Sun dried tomatoes are now a staple in my freezer, but I'd never heard of them until, when was it, the 80s?   I now cook with such a large variety of foods, and really have to thank the foodies and their fads for that.  But still for me the fadiest food of all is what's in season and what's in the garden.  Artichokes are plentiful now.   I grew up eating these almost daily when they were in season.  My mother would make them for me at lunchtime, just plain with a glass of milk.  I remember loving artichoke season and still do, and we eat them often when they are plentiful.  We are lucky to live an hour from Castroville, the self-proclaimed artichoke capital of the world.  We stopped by the farm stands on our way home from a trip and came away with a big bag.  We love them prepared any old way, but if I have the inclination I'll stuff them, that's our favorite way.  It's a great dinner party entree, lots of fun and casual, but it's strictly finger food and messy at that, provide a big napkin!


Start by preparing the choke.
Next comes the filling.

Today's filling had leftover chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, herbs, red bell pepper, bacon, plus bread crumbs and parm.




I think artichokes and avocados are pretty much available every where these days, but not always so.  As a girl growing up in Southern California, they were as commonplace as an apple.  There was a gas station near our house that had an avocado tree in the corner and we would just go and help ourselves.  I was vaguely aware that they might be special though, when relatives from the mid-west or the south would visit, they always would ask if it was artichoke or avocado season and then marvel when we prepared them.  I have a letter that my grandmother wrote in the 20s to her family in Tennessee when she was newly arrived in California describing the avocado as an ugly savory fruit popular with the Mexicans and it was perfectly safe to eat!  Funny!  But today it's about artichokes.

Stuffed Artichokes
 
To stuff an artichoke, you need to prepare them first.  Cut off the stem at it's base then cut the top first inch off the top.  Scoop out the light purple leaves and the fuzzy choke that sits right above the heart.  For this I use a serrated grapefruit spoon and it does take some digging.  With kitchen shears, cut off the pointy tops of the leaves that are showing.  Douse all cuts with lemon: slice a lemon in half, give it a squeeze and rub all over.  This prevents the cuts from browning.

You will need about 1/2 cup filling per choke.  I always use bread crumbs, freshly grated parmesan cheese and a mix of veggies and usually some browned sausage.  Today I had bacon in the fridge and used 4 slices browned and crumbled.  I whirl it all very quickly through the food processor to get a even textured filling, but still chunky.  Fill the center and then open the leaves and push down filling into as many leaves as you can, I usually manage to fill about 10 leaves.  Place chokes in low pan with 1 inch water, turn flame to high and get to boil, cover with lid and lower heat to simmer for 45 minutes or until heart feels soft when pierced with a sharp knife.  They can also be cooked in the oven.  I made extra for lunch the next day.  They are great cold too!

You Might Also Like

3 Comments

  1. This looks delicious! I love artichokes, will have to give this a try!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Too funny: I made artichokes last night! Plain though, with spicy aioli. These look great!

    ReplyDelete

You make my day when you make a comment!

Labels

afghan Alana Dakos ally pally ambassador Amy Herzog Ankestrick Arte Italica baby Baby Cocktails bakelite baking berry picking Best Friday of the Month best of Ravelry Big Sur blue transferware book review books boutique brook cables California candy child children children's activities Christmas Christmas crafts Christmas knitting cleaning collections cookie cutters cookies cooking craft Crafts crochet cross-stitch day trip decluttering decorating designer spotlight discount diy dog dolls Easter eau de vie Elizabeth Bradley Elizabeth Zimmerman embroidery entertaining Facebook fall fall decorating fall garden family featured first car fit flower arranging flowers free pattern Friday night party group friends funny Fur garden gardening Giants Gifted Hostess give-away giveaway gluten free gourmet group Halloween herbs holiday home how to set up a party group jewelry Kaffe Fassett KAL Kim Hargreaves kitting Knit Picks knitting laundry Le Jacquard Francais Little French Knits Los Altos lunch Mailbu Making Things Marie Wallin Martin Storey menu minimalism money talk mosaic movies my house my patterns my town nails needlepoint needles October challenge Octoberfest ollalie organizing original design outdoor seating owl party prep pear peg dolls pies pomegranates poncho preview quilting recipe recycling redwork review roses Rowan San Francisco Sarah Hatton sewing sewing room tour shawl shopping shower social media softie spring spring garden stash Stitches West summer summer garden summer knitting Sunday Morning Swans Island table setting test test knit Thanksgiving Three Irish Girls TNNA tomatoes top 10 list toys travel tutorial twinning ufo Uncommon Threads vacation Valentine vegetable garden videos wedding winter garden wip Woolfolk yarn yarn for sale Ysolda