Stuffed Artichokes
The flavorings in this dish are zesty—a combination of the traditional and a few touches of my own. The anchovies add a lot of flavor, but if you don’t like them, don’t use them. Lemon zest lightens the flavor of this hearty dish a little. (You might find that adding just a little bit of zest to other robust dishes will do the same for them.) It may seem strange to chop the crushed red pepper—especially as they fly around the chopping board a bit while you’re trying to do so—but it prevents you from biting down on a big flake of pepper in the stuffing. If you have vegetable stock or chicken stock, you may use it in place of the water called for in the recipe. It will surely add flavor.
Artichokes should be firm, with a healthy green color—brownish streaks in the leaves indicate age. Hold an artichoke in your palm and make sure it is compact, not soft and loose. Two artichokes should squeak a little when rubbed together. Artichokes—for that matter, any vegetables that have a stem: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, carrots—should have the stems left on when shipped to market. The stem acts as a reserve food supply for the vegetable while it is on display to be sold at market. Look for and ask for vegetables with stems.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl and let steep 30 minutes to 2 hours. If you plan to hold the infused garlic oil longer than a few hours, strain out the garlic and reserve the flavored oil.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Step 3
Grate 1 teaspoon of zest from one of the lemons and set the zest aside. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and pour about half the juice into a large bowl of cool water. Reserve the remaining lemon juice and two of the lemon halves. Prepare the artichokes for stuffing as described on page 14, plunging them and the peeled stems into the acidulated water as you go.
Step 4
Mix the bread crumbs, eggs, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the mint, anchovies, Parmigiano-Reggiano, half the red pepper, the reserved lemon zest, and 3 tablespoons of garlic-infused olive oil together in a bowl. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Mix well.
Step 5
Remove the artichokes from the water and drain them a few minutes on a kitchen towel, rapping them once or twice to remove as much of the liquid as possible. Gently spread leaves open from the center to make sure as much stuffing as possible ends up between the leaves. Dividing the stuffing evenly among the artichokes and using the palm of one hand, work the stuffing between the artichoke leaves and into the center (see ill. 4, page 15) where the choke was. You may not need all the stuffing to fill the artichokes. If you have any left over, you may use it as described below to make a thicker sauce. (Or, if you prefer a thicker sauce, be sure to reserve about 3 tablespoons of the stuffing for that purpose.)
Step 6
Nestle the artichokes into an oval 12-inch ceramic baking dish, or other dish into which they fit comfortably.Tuck the reserved stems in between the artichokes. Pour enough fresh water into the dish to cover the bottom third of the artichokes. Season water with salt, and add the remaining crushed red pepper, the remaining 3 tablespoons infused olive oil, the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, and the remaining lemon juice and lemon halves to the water. Dot the tops of the artichokes with the butter. For a denser sauce, spoon any remaining or reserved stuffing into the liquid in the dish. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil, poke the foil a few times with a fork, and bake until the leaves are tender when pierced with a paring knife, 30 to 45 minutes.
Step 7
Uncover the artichokes and bake until the top of the stuffing is browned and crusty and an outer leaf is easy to pluck from the artichoke, about 10 minutes. Serve the artichokes hot in shallow soup plates, spooning some of the cooking liquid around each.
