Stuffing myself on Stuffed Artichokes

Oh Artichokes!

Last Sunday at the Farmer's market, with a fiercely blazing sun- and a fiercely blazing-past-everything son, I almost speed-walked past a stall with the usual suspects: beans, carrots, zucchini...
And almost missed it.

There they were...perfect green globes just waiting for someone to take them home.

Everyone keeps talking about the amount of time and effort it takes to make them. Seriously, have you ever tried making authentic Indian curries?

Yeah. I DIDNT think so.



I agree that for the hour of peeling, cutting, boiling, making the filling, baking there seems to be precious little to actually enjoy of the Artichoke.

But that little bit goes a very long way!!



Can you tell we LOVED it?

Stuffed Artichokes

Medium sized artichokes - 2
Garlic cloves, minced- 5
Shallot, minced-1
Breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup
Basil leaves, chopped fine - 5
sausage chopped fine and sauteed-1
Lemons, juiced- 1
Grated Parmesan- 1/2 cup
Extra-virgin olive oil-1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the artichokes under running water.

Cut off the tops of the artichokes. Remove and reserve the stem of the artichoke. Peel off the tough green outer leaves and discard.

In a large saucepan, pour 3 inches of water, add the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add the artichokes and the stems, cover and cook for 25 minutes, until tender. Drain, cool, and set aside.

Remove the fibrous outer part of the stem and chop fine.

In the meantime, combine sausage, breadcrumbs, basil, garlic, shallots, basil, salt, pepper, Parmesan, oil and the chopped stem.

Cut the artichokes in half. Use a small knife to remove the spiny choke.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the artichokes in a shallow baking dish. Season the cavity of each artichoke with salt and pepper and stuff in and around the leaves with the stuffing mixture. Place in preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove and let rest 10 minutes. Serve immediately, or serve at room temperature.