Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms Recipe

Posted on 11th of May, 2011 by Lévana

Artichokes: A great Sephardi favorite, in every shape and form. Someone in the food industry, bless him, has done all the pesky job of snapping the leaves off the artichokes, and the even peskier job of scraping the fuzz off the artichoke bottoms, leaving us only with exactly what we want (perfect artichoke bottoms or baby artichoke hearts) in order to sail through the preparation of quite a few artichoke-based treats. There’s nothing I don’t do with them: Soups, salads, pickles, pastas, dips!

Frozen artichoke bottoms: How perfect is this?

Lean, nutrient-packed, different, and delicious. Did you know there was an artichoke liqueur called Cynar? Not for the fainthearted: Try it, it might grow on you!

You can stuff artichoke bottoms with virtually anything you like: Meat, fish, rice, vegetables, cheese, breadcrumbs: The latter is what I am choosing to go with in this recipe,  just so I can let the artichoke be the main star.

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil

1 large onion, quartered

4 large cloves garlic

2 ribs celery, peeled

1 bunch flat parsley

6-8 sprigs dill, fronds and stems

Juice and zest of 2 lemons

3 tablespoons capers

3 cups fresh bread crumbs, gluten-free OK

Salt and pepper to taste

14-16 large frozen artichoke bottoms, no need to thaw before using.

Cooking liquid:

2 cups water

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons turmeric

2 good pinches saffron

Instructions:

Heat the oil in large skillet. In a food processor, coarsely grind the onion, garlic, celery, parsley and dill, and add to the skillet. Sauté the mixture until translucent. Add all but last ingredients, and mix thoroughly, adding a few drops water if necessary to form a thick paste. Fill the artichokes with the mixture, using it all up. Bring the cooking liquid ingredients to boil, and place the bottoms stuffing side up in the skillet. Reduce the flame to medium, and cook covered 20 minutes. Transfer the artichokes to a platter, and look at the liquid left in the skillet: if it is too thin reduce to thicken, and pour over the artichokes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Filed under: Artichoke Bottoms Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Kosher Natural Foods, Kosher Recipes, Kosher Whole Foods Recipes, Moroccan Recipes, Pareve Recipes, Sephardi Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes