Stuffed Artichokes with Sundried Tomatoes

Growing up, we always ate artichokes in their simplest form; steamed and served with a butter-lemon juice sauce. A couple years ago, I discovered deep fried artichoke hearts, which are amazing and delicious, but always seem a bit like cheating. Yes, the heart is definitely the best part of the artichoke, but a decent part of the fun (for me) is slowly eating your way through the tough leaves towards the center.

Still, I had never tried stuffed artichokes before; they always seemed like too much work. But when a friend and I made plans to cook a nice dinner together with some of the rockfish she brought back from Alaska, I knew I had to step up my game. 

Stuffed artichokes are surprisingly easy to make. Depending on how tightly clustered the leaves are, you may have to work a little to separate them enough to scoop out the choke, but once you do, simply add the stuffing and let them simmer away for an hour before pulling them out. They make an excellent side dish with fish, or a light meal all on their own.

Check out the original recipe here. I’ve made a few tweaks, as always, but the original post has a great set of photos showing how to prep the artichokes; much better than anything I managed to take while making these.

Local ingredients: CSA artichokes

Ingredients

2 artichokes

2 cups breadcrumbs

1 cup sundried tomatoes (packed in oil)

2 tbsp herbs de provence (or similar seasoning)

olive oil ( up to 1/2 cup, depending on how much oil is in your sundried tomato jar)

3 cups low sodium vegetable broth or water

2 bay leaves

Directions

Cut the stem off the bottom of the artichokes, creating a flat base. Peel apart artichoke leaves until you can see the center. Using a sharp spoon or tablespoon measure, remove the innermost leaves and choke.

In a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and herbs de provence. Chop sundried tomatoes and add to the bowl along with the oil, leaving enough to cover if you have tomatoes remaining in the jar. Add olive oil until the mixture is moist and starts to clump together.

Pack stuffing in the center of each artichoke, then between the leaves. Place the artichokes stem-side down in a dutch oven and add the broth and bay leaves. Cover and let simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until the outer leaves pull away from the stem with a gentle tug. Serve and eat hot!