Stuffed artichoke bottoms in Lemon, Garlic, and saffron

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These were so delicious that my mouth continued to want more, long after my tummy was very full.

I’m making these stuffed artichoke bottoms with lamb, but they’d also be delicious with beef, turkey, or ground beef substitute, such as Beyond or Impossible. One of the great things about this dish is that, although making it is a multi-step process, all the actual work can be done a day in advance. Then, when it’s time to make dinner, just pour in the sauce and pop them in the oven. I’ve used frozen artichoke bottoms, which need to be pre-cooked. Just follow the directions on the bag. You could also use canned, which require no prep at all.

Another option is to use fresh whole artichokes, steaming them until tender and then removing the leaves and the choke. Personally, although I love eating whole steamed artichokes, this is not my favorite way to make this dish. It’s a lot of unnecessary work, and then you have a giant pile of leaves which are too much to eat but too good to throw out. If you do decide to go this route, you could put on a movie, pull up a chair, and use a spoon to scrape the flesh off each leaf. You’ll have the makings of a fabulous artichoke soup.

Stuffed artichoke bottoms are a great dish for Passover (not the version with ground beef substitute—it’s kosher but not pesadik) or for any time. This week I’m making them as part of my menu for Parasha Acharei. The quinoa pilaf that joined them on the plate was the perfect side. (Check the menu for that parasha to see how to make the pilaf.) I also served them with some roasted asparagus because I had some in the fridge. Any vegetable would work here.

All in all, I promise you a fabulous meal.

The last time I made these there were only two of us, so I divided the meat mixture in half before adding the walnuts and mango to one half, and then froze the other half to make meatballs at some time in the future. It was just the right amount of stuffing for one bag of frozen artichoke bottoms. There were was still enough of these beauties for us to have two dinners out of it, which was wonderful because I wanted more.

Ingredients:

Artichokes

• 2-14 ounce bags of frozen artichoke bottoms

• 1 lemon

• 1 egg

• matzo meal for dredging

Stuffing

• 1 pound ground beef, lamb, or vegetarian ground beef substitute, such as Imagine™ or Beyond™

• 1 medium-large onion, diced small

• 3 large cloves garlic, minced (divided use)

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon allspice

• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/3 cup matzo meal

• 1/3 cup ice cold water

• ¼ cup tomato paste

• ½ cup flat leaf parsley

• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves

• 1/4 cup fresh dill

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup diced fresh mango

• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pine nuts

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• freshly ground black pepper to taste 

 Sauce

 ⅓  cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves, chopped

 1 cup stock or water

 a big pinch of saffron

 Kosher salt as needed (depending upon how salty your stock is)

 juice of 2 lemons

Method:

Prepare the artichokes:

• Put the frozen artichoke bottoms into a pot and add enough water to cover. Add salt until the water tastes pleasantly salty, and then aded the juice of one lemon. Bring it to a boil, then cover the pot and simmer until they’re tender, about 20-25 minutes.

Prepare the stuffing:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat or meat substitute with all the stuffing ingredients. The ice water and matzo meal are critical here—it’s what makes the meat soft and tender. Use your hands to massage all the ingredients together.

Assemble the artichokes:

• Fill each of the artichokes with a mound of the meat mixture. The amount in each will be determined by the size of the artichoke.

• In a small bowl, beat the egg with a small splash of water. Dip each stuffed artichoke in the egg and then coat it in the matzo meal, all around.

• Heat some neutral oil in a skillet and fry the artichokes, meat side down, until they’re lightly browned. Then turn them over and fry them on the other side. Arrange them in a baking pan, stuffing side up, leaving some space between them.

• You can prepare the artichokes up to this point a day in advance.

Add the sauce:

• Although the sauce ingredients may seem overly basic and not very sauce-like, I promise that after the artichokes bake in it, it will be delicious and perfect for drizzling over the top of the artichokes and any pilaf you serve on the side. Simply stir them all together and pour it into the dish.

Bake the artichokes:

• Preheat the oven to 350°.

• Cover the dish with foil. Slide it into the oven and bake it for 45 minutes.

• Then remove the foil. Put the baking dish under the broiler. Keep a careful eye and let the tops become browned and crisp.

• Then remove from the dish from the oven and serve.