Stuffed Artichokes - Oven Edition

I've been making stuffed artichokes for more than 50 years, following my Abruzzese mother-in-law's "recipe." The above photo is NOT that recipe. Read on. The photo below however, is of her recipe and method -- a soft bread cube stuffing with the artichokes cooked/steamed in a shallow water bath over a gentle flame. You can find that recipe here. 

They're delicious that way, but after seeing "Philly Food Girl's" version on Instagram - using dry bread crumbs rather than soft bread cubes, and baked in the oven, I'm finding it hard to decide which I like better. 

Aside from the scrumptious crunchy filling, with the oven method, you don't have to babysit a pan resting on the range, worrying about whether the water will evaporate and leave you with burnt artichokes and a blackened pan (been there/done that).  Just place the artichokes in an oven-proof pan, add water and cover with aluminum foil. 

Come back in a hour and a half and remove the foil. There should still be plenty of water in the bottom, then cook them for an additional 20 minutes uncovered. 

At that point, the stuffing will be crunchy and delectable -- flavored with lemon, garlic, and herbs. It may seem like a lot of work to clean the artichokes, make the stuffing and then peel off each one to eat it, but it's oh so worth it. 

It's also perfect for your holiday table, so get some artichokes and get busy.

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Stuffed Artichokes, Oven Edition

Inspired by Philly Food Girl

Ingredients:

two large artichokes

1 cup bread crumbs (I used my homemade bread crumbs that were unseasoned, but you can use either seasoned or unseasoned store-bought bread crumbs)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 large garlic clove, minced 

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

salt, pepper to taste 

a good amount of parsley, (maybe 1/4 cup finely minced)

a couple sprigs of fresh oregano, minced (or 1/2 tsp. dried)

olive oil (start with 1/2 cup)

For the Baking:

water

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 lemon, cut into four pieces

more olive oil

Mix the stuffing by adding all the ingredients (except the artichokes of course) together. The mixture should stick together when you press on it, like coarse sand at the beach. It should not be soggy, but it should be damp. Set aside while you prepare the artichokes for stuffing.

Trim the artichokes by removing the tough outer leaves on the bottom and slicing off the stem (but don't throw away the stem - trim away the outer hard peel and keep the inside part). Using a scissors, snip off the spiky tip of each leaf, going all around the artichoke. Use a sharp serrated knife and slice across the top of the artichoke, leaving a flat surface. Use your hands to pry apart the artichoke slightly, exposing the choke enough so you can scoop it out. I use a grapefruit spoon. Even if you don't remove it completely, it's ok. It will soften in the cooking and while it won't hurt it, it also doesn't taste particularly good either. At this point, some people place the artichokes in water infused with lemon juice, but unless you're making a lot of artichokes, it's not necessary, especially if you mixed the stuffing first. It will only take five minutes to stuff the artichokes.

Take some of the stuffing and place it in as many of the leaves as you can, leaving enough to place inside the center section where the choke was. Place the artichokes in a deep, oven-proof dish and add enough water to reach the first (bottom) layer of leaves. Add the trimmed stems to the dish. Pour in the wine and add the lemon pieces to the dish, then drizzle the artichokes with more olive oil (use your own discretion). Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.