Not gonna lie, artichokes kinda intimidated me. Hard to cook, hard to eat…why bother? Well, a sale at Trader Joe’s and this post at Things My Belly Likes changed my mind.
My first attempt was inedible, except for the stuffing. Ha, well, you can’t win them all. But by round two, success! And boy was it good.
Don’t want to bother stuffing them? I found an easier way to enjoy artichokes was just to steam them, with the stem and tips cut off, above boiling water for 30-40 min. Then drizzle with olive oil, lemon, and parsley, or dip in mayo or your favorite creamy salad dressing.
Good luck!
Ingredients
- 2 globe artichokes
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan or asiago cheese + a little more for topping
- 2 tbs fresh basil, chopped
- 1/2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F.
First, prepare the artichoke. Chop off the stem and pointed tip. Using scissors, snip off the thorny tips of each leaf.
It doesn’t hurt to remove the bottom leaves too — especially the small or discolored ones. While you are working, squeeze a lemon over the leaves to prevent them from browning. I used a pastry brush dipped in lemon juice, or you can just dunk them in a bowl of lemon water.
Gently pull apart the yellow leaves toward the middle, until you see a purplish rose-bud shape. Remove this whole thing with your fingers or a spoon, hollowing out the middle. Beneath the purple leaves, there will be a fuzzy disc-thing (I’m feeling loquacious today, can you tell? 😉 ). Remove this as well, using a spoon, apparently it’s not edible. This whole process gets kind of messy!
Now you are ready to stuff them. Combine the cheeses, herbs, garlic, and salt/pepper in a bowl and mix thoroughly. To stuff the chokes, I filled up the middle cavity, and then used a butter knife to fill the little openings of the leaves with stuffing.
Bring a big pot of water to a boil. In a colander or steaming basket, steam the stuffed chokes until soft, about 40 minutes or so.
Sprinkle with cheese if you like, and then place them in the oven until browned…this didn’t take long at all.
To eat, pull off the leaves one by one. Scrap out the inner leaves (The softer inner lining is delicious, but the outer tough part isn’t edible). When all the leaves are gone, you get to the soft part at the bottom center — the heart — that is the best part!
Any feedback on this method?
I didn’t really know what I was doing, haha. Thanks for bearing with me.
Happy artichoke-ing! 🙂
Becca's Green Kitchen 
Looks fantastic! They indimidate me too, but I just may have a go at this one! 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks! Let me know how it goes if you do…I still feel kinda iffy about this method. All I know is that they sure tasted good, and that’s what counts, right? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by
This looks absolutely delicious and might be my next artichoke recipe. Anything stuffed with cheese is a winner in my book. Thanks for the shout out and happy artichoking! (ha! I just made artichoke a verb. My work here is done)
Ha, right?! What is life without cheese?! Thanks for giving me the guts to tackle ’em! Artichoking is a fine verb…even though my autocorrect changed it 3 times to “Afro joking”…. 😉 Thanks for the link too!
Great looking recipe! And thanks for the link to Things My Belly Likes! Loving the Creative Kitchen Challenge!
Thanks! And you’re welcome…isn’t the challenge such a great idea? Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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Great post Becca, artichokes are placed in the too hard basket by many, including me! Your photos tempt me to try……😊
Thanks! They are kind of a high maintenance vegetable, and I avoided them for a long time! Would love to hear your thoughts if you do try them. 🙂 thanks so much for stopping by!
This sounds great! I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks! They came out soo good (um, after 2 tries 😉 ). Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!
Artichokes intimidate me as well! It seems like so much work for such little meat, but they look delicious 🙂
Totally agree – I’m not sure artichokes will be a regular addition to my produce basket! 🙂 once in a while theyre such treat though! Thanks Erin!
Gorgeous! Artichokes always remind me of my mom. They were a ince a year treat in our house. These look fantastic Becca!
What a sweet tradition! Thanks for sharing, Shira!
This sounds delicious! I usually just trim the stem, cut the top off, and tuck slivers of garlic cloves in between some of the leaves. Olive oil, salt & pepper, wrap ’em in foil and roast until tender. Give ’em a squeeze of lemon juice when they come out. Delish!
Oh that’s brilliant! Definitely less high-maintenance than this method! I’ll be sure to try that- thanks for sharing!! 🙂
I love stuffed artichokes and these look amazing!
You’re too kind. 🙂 Thanks Lauren!
I love dipping artichokes in horseradish. I combo plain yogurt with horseradish. So yummy. Thanks for this recipe!
That’s a great idea! I usually like to dip them in mayo mixed with lemon juice and garlic powder….delicious but not exactly healthy, ha! I’ll have to try that. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
This dish is a lot of work but boy it is so worth it! 🙂 I never did this at home. Now, I must!
Totally agree – artichokes are a little too high-maintenance to be a regular in my kitchen, but I do love ’em! Let me know how it works for you if you do try them! Thanks Sophie! 🙂
This looks delicious! It’s high time I overcame my fear of preparing whole artichokes. 🙂
Thanks Marge! Took me a while to conquer that fear too…but when you do, not only will you get the thrill of victory but you’ll have yummy artichokes as well! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!