JustAbitCrazy

I make Italian stuffed artichokes for holidays. They are stuffed with Italian seasoned bread crumbs and grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, fresh chopped parsley and garlic powder. First you have to soak them in a sink of water to make sure to get any live or dead bugs out if there are any in between the leaves. Drain the artichokes upside down in a dish drainer. Cut off the sharp tips on each individual leaf with a sharp knife. In the center where all the leaves come together in a long point, cut those tips off all as one. Cut the stems off so the artichokes can sit upright and level. Spread all the leaves apart and sprinkle the seasoned bread crumbs into them so there's a layer of breading in the bottom half of each leaf. Sit all the artichokes in a shallow pan like a lasagna pan, drizzle a tiny bit of water over each and also a little drizzle of olive oil on each. Sprinkle more grated cheese on the tops of each stuffed artichoke. Put about a half inch of water in the bottom of the pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake at 350 degrees for about three hours. You may want to check once halfway through to make sure there's still some water in the bottom of the pan---add more if needed. Usually mine don't cook dry. Once baked, sit the pan aside to cool. These can be made the night before the holiday dinner, as they are eaten at room temperature and don't require refrigeration. To eat them, pull off the leaves one at a time starting with the outermost leaves, and draw the leaf through your teeth pulling the bread crumb stuffing and soft bottoms of the leaves off with your top teeth. It's the flavored breading and soft leaf bottoms that are consumed, not the fibrous parts of the leaves. Stuffed artichokes have a mild flavor, much like other foods like shrimp.
Now you can be a little "Italian" at your next holiday dinner. Enjoy my family recipe!

tesspug

Not recipe, but a pretty wreath. I bought small artichoke once by the ocean. I threaded a string through the stem and hung them upside down in the garage. When they were complete dry I spray painted them gold and attached them to a grapevine wreath. I added fall leaves and pinecones for a fall wreath, then at Christmas I took off the leaves and added gold balls.

tropit

I had to use up about 15 artichokes so I steamed them in a big pot with a couple of quartered lemons, let them cool and then removed all of the leaves and "choke" part until I just had the hearts left. I mashed them up in the food processor with a some ground almonds, (left over from making almond milk,) a little cashew yogurt and some spices. It made a nice dip that I spread on some french bread rounds and served them for appetizers. Pretty good! The almond and artichoke flavors complimented each other.

I think I'll go for an Italian, artichoke casserole next time, or try one of the recipes offered above...thanks!

~ C

sewnclog

I too have never eaten one; have No idea what they taste like.

carolynjo

I love artichoke dip, but can't find my recipe. Good luck hunting one that you like.

tropit

I'm so sad for those of you that have never tasted an artichoke. They are divine! They taste somewhat like asparagus and are lots of fun to eat. The typical way to cook them is to boil them in salted water and serve one to each person. Then, everyone tears the leaves off, dips them in some sort of dip (melted butter, mayo, ranch, etc.) and scrapes the dip and plant flesh off of the leaf between their teeth. The used leaves are tossed in a big, communal bowl. It's a fun family dish!

Another way to eat them is to steam, or boil them and then take all of the leaves off, throw them away and just use the base, or "heart" of the artichoke in various dishes. I'm thinking of using this method to make artichoke ravioli next time.

~ C

GingerK

Oh Tropit I wish I was in your shoes! I love artichokes but really only get to enjoy the canned ones and therefore have only had the hearts and never the leaves. We use them on pizza, dip, antipasto trays, and (shhh don't tell my DH) right out of the can!!

Grace creates

I too love artichokes any way they are cooked. My favorite it stuffing them as Just a Bit Crazy spoke of, but steamed with a little lemon water is good, dip is good. I guess being you have so many you can try making a tray of slightly steamed and then stuffing and freezing for later use. Usually, I don't steam first when baking stuffed artichokes but I never have so many that freezing would be required.

peaceandjoy

Prep = Spread leaves gently to wash, cut spikey tips off with kitchen scissors (or knife, I think scissors are easier). Boil or steam to serve with clarified butter seasoned as desired (plain, herb, lemon).

Or prep as above, then cut in quarters, remove choke. Saute in ghee or olive oil. Or roast. Serve as a side or use in recipe in place of canned/frozen. A favorite is https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chi...ne-sauce-98743.

Celeste

I gotta jump in real quick and share what I think is a funny story. When I was in grade school I tasted an artichoke for the first time and really liked it. My Mom bought some so I could make some myself. They had used mayonnaise to dip the tips in, so that’s what I did for her. Picture her standing on one side if the kitchen, taking a bite then, hanging her tongue out, walking rapidly to the sink and shaking her head to get rid of the the stuff. Turns out she hates mayonnaise!