Baked Artichokes
You know how I love artichokes. This past Easter while preparing the meal with my family, my Mom had some artichokes we weren’t quite sure what to do with. They were not exactly big for stuffing, but that was a possibility especially because Stuffed Artichokes are my favorite thing ever! In the interest of time, we came up with these baked artichokes. We made them the night before, and we actually snacked on them as they came out of the oven. We kind of ate most of them before they made it to the Easter table. Whoops! That’s how good these are! As with all fresh artichokes, the most time consuming part is cleaning them. I used four globe artichoke here cut in half to equal 8 servings. But, I say if you are cleaning artichokes, double the recipe and enjoy them for a few days. They re-heat well, and are crispy and delicious!
Baked Artichokes
Ingredients
- 4 artichokes cleaned
- 1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 2 lemons one for soaking the artichokes and zesting & the other for squeezing on top
- 1/4 cup olive oil (4 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup water plus more for soaking the artichokes
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the stem off the artichokes. Cut off the tops and peel away any tough leaves. Cut the artichokes in half.
- Spoon out the spiked purple leaves.
- You should have a little artichoke boat.
- As you prepare the halves, place them in the lemon water. Continue to clean the remaining artichokes.
- Remove the artichokes to drain on paper towels.
- While the artichokes are draining, prepare the stuffing. In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, two tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, lemon zest and salt and pepper.
- Mix until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of a baking pan.
- Place the artichoke in an even layer in the pan. Drizzle the artichoke with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stuff each artichoke with the breadcrumb mixture. Cube the 2 tablespoons of butter and top each artichoke half with a pat of butter.
- Add one cup of water to the bottom of the tray. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30-45 minutes.
- Once the artichokes are tender. Remove the foil to brown the tops for about 10 more minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.
