Italian stuffed artichokes - what the heck am I doing wrong?
My third attempt at making stuffed artichokes was not as bad as the other two. The problem is that I never seem to be able to get the leaves soft enough and the stuffing of the right texture. I have been making a stuffing of bread crumbs, garlic, dried basil, a little parmesan, salt and pepper and a few squirts of lemon juice. My most recent attempt was to put the artichoke in my steamer for 1 hr. This worked, but I would have loved the leaves to have been a bit softer and the stuffing less globby. What's the secret? How does everyone else make their stuffed artichokes?
Hallie
Aug 05, 2002 06:06AM
I don't use a steamer, I place the stuffed artichokes (bread crumbs parm, garlic, parsley, and olive oil) in a covered pot with about 2" of water just enough to go up to the base but not enough to make the stuffing wet. Once they are soft, I then put the oven (400) until the stuffing turns golden brown. I squirt lemon before serving.
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a similar approach which i use (and based on my interpretation of a family recipe conveyed verbally), is to fry artichokes upside down first to brown tops, then boiling, as follows:
Grace Olivieris CARCIOFI RIPIENI
for six artichokes:
4 ½ cups breadcrumbs (about ¾ cup per artichoke)
1 cup grated parmesan or romano
2 3 tblspns olive oil
4 eggs
heaps of chopped flat leaf parsley, stems reserved for cooking
heaps of chopped or crushed garlic
salt and pepper
extra garlic and olive oil for frying
some potatoes for cooking
Prepare the artichokes by trimming the end so they can stand upright and removing any tough outer leaves. Peel away the outer layer of the stems, cut into lengths and put artichokes and stems in water with lemon juice.
Combine all the remaining ingredients. Measurements for the stuffing are approximate, but, as a guide, the mixture should resemble a dough and hang together pretty well! Divide into six even portions.
Gently loosen and open artichoke leaves. Start stuffing from the outside and work in, pushing the stuffing in and leaving a little gap at the top of each leaf (as a handhold for later!). When you get to the middle, fill it up and cover the top with a layer of stuffing.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Add garlic, then fry the artichokes upside down to brown on top.
Arrange the artichokes upright in a large pot with the stems, parsley stems for flavour and extra garlic if you like! Pour any juices or oil from the frying pan over the top. They should stay upright - you can use potatoes whole or in large pieces to fill in gaps and prop them up. Boil the kettle. Pouring down the side, fill pot to just below the top of the artichokes and cook at a steady boil for 1 to 1½ hours depending on their size, check by removing a leaf to try.
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Some suggestions:
Don't use lemon juice, it's too watery. Use a little bit of olive oil and then use just a LITTLE bit of egg to bind it.
I steam the artichokes first. When they come out of the steamer, make sure to plunge them in cold water to stop the cooking process... remember they're going to be baked as well! Then drain and cool them, pat dry, stuff them and bake them or broil them (and as an added bonus, this also means you can get a nice gratin on top if you want).
Also, make sure you use young artichokes! If you use enormous, mature artichokes, the leaves are not going to soften no matter what you do. ('Tis the nature of the beast.) If you're not artichoke-enabled where you live, you can ensure tenderness in a quite painstaking way - snip off all the tops of leaves, leaving only the edible parts. This will take a while and is not for the faint of heart or the short of attention-span.
Good luck!
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I remember my mother used to snip off the sharp ends on each leaf of the artichoke, then stuff them with a bread crumb herb mixture. Then she would put them in a pot on the stove top with a bit of oil and water in the bottom of the pot, and I guess she used to steam them.
I have never tried to make them, because no one in my family eats them except me. And I have found a restaurant in my neighborhood that makes them like Mom did.
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Found this site by an artichoke producer. Might have some recipes and tips for you.
http://www.oceanmist.com/recipeFR.htm
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I usually make 4 at a time and use medium size chokes. Trim the stem and the upper 3/4" portion of the leaves, stand them upright in a Dutch oven, add water to come up mid-way on the chokes, squeeze lemon juice over them, and then boil them for about 15-20 minutes. Cool and remove the inner leaves.
Stuffing consists of coarse home-made bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, one egg, and some olive oil.
Stuff the leaves and stand each choke upright in the special stuffed artichoke pan I inherited from my Italian grandma-in-law, put about 1/2 cup water in the pan, sprinkle some olive oil over the tops, cover, and bake in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees.
My husband usually polishes all four off over the course of an afternoon.
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I gave up trying to stuff the kind of artichokes we have here, they can't be made tender. What I now do is pull off the leaves, reserving those with "meat" on them to steam and serve with hollandaise as a separate course. I then trim the bottom and peel it as necessary to remove the tough skin and choke. Cut the stem end flat, and you have a nice little cup you can fill with crab in bechamel or whatever, top with buttered crumbs and brown in the broiler.
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I got clued into a very quick way to cook an artichoke--in the microwave. Take a large glass container (I use a large Corning ware-like glass measuring cup), place artichoke in upside down, fill 3/4 full with water. Cover top with plastic wrap--microwave on high for 15 minutes. No hot kitchen, no waiting. Works every time.
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