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Stuffing an Artichoke

This is the season where we’re transitioning out of winter and into late spring and it’s the perfect time for artichokes. While in Italy we have a wide range of artichokes, from slender and purple to plump and green, in the US the most common is the globe artichoke and one of the best ways to enjoy them is stuffed.

The artichoke is actually the bud of the flower of a thistle plant and if allowed to grow on the plant they bloom into a thorny flower with a prickly purple center. Most of the artichoke is inedible and the only way to eat it is to make your way through the tough leaves to the cap-like center heart. In Tuscany we generally will clean the artichoke before cooking, cutting away, tearing off and scraping out the choke, then sautéing them with olive oil, garlic, lemon and parsley.

When you first begin to deal with artichokes, it’s difficult to throw most of the vegetable away, but once you embrace the reality that most of the leaves and the choke are completely inedible and tough and that you eventually have to throw it away anyway, they become easier to clean and prepare.

You can also find small artichokes right now, they come in packs of 12. These are the babies that grow on the plant late in the season. They are simple to prepare as they require less cleaning and there isn’t as much to throw away. Just cut off the top half of the artichoke, peel off the outer leaves until the leaves become pale green and yellow, trim the stem, and gently simmer them until tender, then stuff them. You would probably want two or three per serving.

Artichokes can seem intimidating but a little practice and you’ll soon be enjoying these delicious vegetables often! Stuffed artichokes make a lovely starter and are a delicious way to enjoy the bounty of the spring season.

Stuffed Artichokes

4 large globe artichokes

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp parsley, minced

1 tbsp basil, chopped

1 teas dried tarragon, or 1 tbsp fresh

3/4 cup grated Parmigiano

Sea salt

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

olive oil

hot pepper flakes

Cut the stem off the artichokes even with the bottom so the artichoke can sit up on a plate. Peel the stems, chop them and put them in a little water with lemon so they don’t brown. Cut the top off the artichokes about half way up and discard; with scissors, trim the tips of each leaf, discarding the smallest leaves that grown on the base of the flower.

In a pot big enough to accommodate all the artichokes, put enough water to come halfway up the artichokes, squeeze a lemon into the water, add salt, a garlic clove and 1 tbsp of dried tarragon. Place the artichokes in the pot, stem down, drizzle them with olive oil and bring to a boil. Boil 15 minutes and remove with tongs, putting the artichokes cut side down to allow them to drain. When cool enough to handle, open the artichoke flower and remove the hairy choke in the middle, scraping with a spoon. Place in a baking dish. (Or you can leave the choke inside and stuff them as is, discarding the choke and any inedible leaves at the table when eating.)

Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft, add the mushrooms and the chopped stems from the artichokes, and the hot pepper flakes. Sauté until softened, put in a mixing bowl and add the herbs, bread crumbs, Parmigiano, extra olive oil and salt. Stuff the artichokes with this mixture, packing it in the cavity as well as within each layer of leaves, drizzle with oil and bake at 400 for 20 minutes until browned.

I’ve been missing artichokes this winter. I’m in the US and while I see them in the stores, they just aren’t as fresh and beautiful as what I get in Italy, plus the price is astrological. So I’ve been missing them. Sometimes I succeed in talking the produce manager into discounting old artichokes he won’t be able to sell, but generally not. Apparently they’d rather throw them out than sell them cheap, but I keep trying!

So I was thrilled yesterday to find a beautiful pile of firm, fresh baby artichokes at a little produce store, and I snapped them up and ran home to preserve them, pretending I was in Tuscany, which I will be again shortly.

The Tuscans preserve most of their vegetables under oil, as opposed to southern Italy where they tend to preserve things in vinegar, pickling vegetables like eggplant or peppers, or the mix of carrots, celery, cauliflower and onions known as “giardiniera”. In Tuscany we preserve “sott’olio”, or under oil, grilled eggplant and zucchini and fresh porcini or chanterelles when they’re in season. But artichokes are especially good under oil and very easy to make, although a little labor intensive on the front end.

Baby artichokes are especially plentiful in the spring. Contrary to popular belief, they are not a variety of artichoke, but actually what any artichoke plant will bear after the adult bud has been picked. With almost no choke at all and with the exception of a few layers of outer leaves, the whole thing is edible.

Cut off the top of the artichoke, peel off and throw away the outer dark green leaves and carefully peel the stem. Bring to a boil a mixture of white wine vinegar (or cider vinegar), white wine and water, enough to cover the artichokes, add them and boil for no more than 4 minutes. Take them out and drain them upside down on paper towels. After a few hours remove them to a rack and allow them to airdry at least 12 hours.

Next get large jars that have been sterilized in the dishwasher, and pack the artichokes in, layering them with whole garlic cloves and a sprig of mint, pressing them down to compact them in the jars and squeeze the air out. Cover them with good quality extra virgin olive oil, making sure that the oil completely covers every bit of artichoke, mint, or garlic, with a good ½” on top. If any food is exposed to the air, mold will grow and you’ll have to throw the whole thing out. Believe me, it’s a tragedy when that happens.

You don’t need to run them through a hot bath to seal the jars. That actually will cook the artichoke more and heat the oil, which changes the flavor. The oil acts as a natural seal, preserving the vegetable in the semi-crisp state that it was blanched in.

These will keep for months and are wonderful on an antipasto platter or in a salad. They make a wonderful warm dip pureed with garlic and a little mayonnaise, and the oil can be reused in a salad dressing.

This is just the beginning of the preserving season, followed soon by spring strawberries and early summer cherries and mulberries. But more on that later. Buon Appetito!

Spring Artichokes

Carciofini Sott’Olio – preserving baby artichokes under olive oil