Stuffed Artichokes-My favorite food…ever
What do you say when someone asks, “What’s your favorite food?” Pizza, tacos, spaghetti? Well, if someone asked me that question, the answer would probably be surprising. I’ll give you hint, it’s not pizza, tacos or spaghetti. It’s rather unique and it’s one of my mom’s specialties. Drum roll please….stuffed artichokes! I love this dish so much. It is my absolute favorite! Don’t believe me? Remember when I told in the Artichoke Souffle post that I had a story about artichokes to tell you? Here it is:
When I went away to college, my parents set me up, dropped me off, kissed me goodbye and went home. A few days later, I get a call that there is a package waiting for me at the dorm desk. I go get my package, and open it to find a thermos with stuffed artichokes from my family that had been overnighted to me! I called my Mom and she said she had made the artichokes and felt bad that I wasn’t there to enjoy my favorite food. So my parents packed some up and my Dad raced to have them sent to be next day. I ate artichokes for breakfast that day!
I love artichokes and this is the best way I know how to make them. A lot of traditional stuffed artichoke recipes use just herbs and breadcrumbs as the stuffing. Those are delicious as well. In fact, I like to use that type of stuffing when the artichokes are small or even as a topping if the artichokes are to small to stuff. I like to use the biggest artichokes I can fine. These days to find a nice big green artichoke is a mission itself. The ones I used today are globe artichokes. Not quite as big as I’d like, but a lot easier to find, and they worked just fine. In our family we stuff the artichokes with ground beef. It’s truly meal on it’s own! This is not a quick cooking dish. Depending on the size and quality of your artichokes, they can take a few hours.The waiting kills me! That time is need to yield a tender artichoke with tender leaves. However, I did test this recipe in the Instant Pot as well. They really turned out delicious, and It only took 20 minutes as opposed to hours. Check the recipe notes for IP directions.
So, here’s my absolute favorite food…
Stuffed Artichokes
Ingredients
- 4 medium artichokes
- 3 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 1 small bunch fresh parsley chopped fine
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 cup water plus more for keeping the artichokechoke from tuning brown
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut your lemons in half anf squeeze them on a large bowl filled with water. set aside.
- Cut the stem off the artichoke to create a flat bottom. Do not discard the stalk. Next, cut about 1 inch off the tops of the artichokes. Remove any tough outer leaves of the artichoke.
- Use kitchen shears to cut the tops of any remaining leaves. Add the cleaned artichoke to a bowl filled with water and lemon juice to keep them from from turning brown as you prepare the other artichokes for stuffing. Continue to clean the rest of your artichokes. Leave the artichoke in the lemon water while you prepare the stuffing.
- Peel the artichoke stems with a knife removing any tough outer covering. Set aside. These will add great flavor as the artichokes cook-and they taste delicious!
- Wash and chop your garlic and parsley. Set aside
- In another large bowl, add the ground beef, eggs, Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley and salt & pepper.
- Using a fork mix the meat mixture together until well combined.
- Remove an artichoke from the water an place it face down on some paper towel, or gently shake over the sink to remove any water that may have collected inside the artichoke.
- Carefully separate the leaves of the artichoke with your fingers.
- Begin to stuff the artichoke with the meat filling. Try to get some filling in between each of the leaves. You don't need too much.
- Continue to stuff the artichoke until ll the leaves have some filling in between them.Top the artichoke with some filling. Repeat with remaining artichokes.
- Place the artichokes and clean stems in a casserole/baking dish so that they fit snugly together. Add one cup of water to the bottom of the dish. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 2 hours.
- Remove foil and brown the tops if desired. Remove artichokes from the oven. The outer leave should be tender. If they aren't, return the artichoke to the ovenfor a few more minutes.
Notes
