Stuffed artichokes alla siciliana

main dish Vegetarian Mediterranean cuisine
Total: 1 hr 15 min. | Active: 1 hr 15 min.
vegetarian

Not many people trust themselves with artichokes. Anyone who cooks with them has usually grown up with them. But it's not difficult at all to transform this vegetable into a tender and tasty delicacy. You can preserve artichokes in lemon water so that they keep their beautiful colour, and they go wonderfully with both parsley and mint. There are many ways to cook artichokes. They can be boiled in salted water, fried, steamed, deep-fried or made into a spread. And the stems can be eaten, too. This recipe is simple and incredibly tasty.

Recipe by:
Nadja - LouMalou

Ingredients

for 4 person

To prepare the artichokes
2 litre water
2  lemons, the whole juice
10  artichokes (medium-large, e.g. Romanesco)
Filling
200 g breadcrumbs
100 g Pecorino romano, finely grated
2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
10 leaf peppermint, finely chopped
2  garlic cloves, squeezed
2 dl milk
3 tbsp olive oil
2  eggs, beaten
To stuff the artichokes
¼ tsp salt
To cook the artichokes
2 tbsp olive oil
2  garlic cloves, squeezed
4 dl vegetable bouillon

How it's done

To prepare the artichokes

Pour the water and lemon juice into a large bowl. Break the stem at the base of the artichokes, snap off the bottom 3-4 rows of leaves from the head. Trim the remaining tips by approx. one third. Remove the fuzzy centres with a spoon. Place the artichokes in the bowl of lemon water straight away. Peel the stem and place in the lemon water.

Filling

Mix the breadcrumbs, pecorino, parsley, mint and garlic in a bowl. Add the milk, oil and eggs, rub together by hand to form a moist, grainy mixture.

To stuff the artichokes

Remove the artichokes from the water, drain well, salt the insides. Stuff the artichokes with the filling, press down gently.

To cook the artichokes

Heat the oil in a wide frying pan. Add the garlic, artichoke stems and stuffed artichokes with the filling facing down, fry for approx. 5 mins. until golden brown. Carefully turn the artichokes, add approx. 200 ml of stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat. Cover and steam the artichokes for approx. 30 mins., drizzling a little stock over the artichokes every 10 mins. or so.

Show complete recipe