Ingredients
- 4 artichokes
- 3 c seasoned breadcrumbs, regular or whole wheat
- 1 c ground parmesan cheese (the good stuff!)
- 1/2 chopped parsley
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
- olive oil
- coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
- splash of wine (optional)
- small knob of butter
- 2 lemons
- parsley leaves, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grab a deep casserole dish with lid or a Dutch oven.
- Into a large bowl, add a little water and some lemon slices. Anytime you cut an artichoke, it begins to oxidize or turn brown very quickly. The acidity in the lemon juice helps to prevent this.
- To prep the artichokes, slice off and discard the stem. Strip away any dry, small and ratty looking outer leaves. Toss the artichokes into the lemon water as you work.
- The next step is to make the filling. Get yourself another bowl and add the breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley and garlic. I use my zester to grate the garlic directly into the bowl. Coat the breadcrumbs with olive oil until it looks like wet sand. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- To assemble, splay out the artichoke leaves and stuff each one with your breadcrumb mixture. Once you get close to the center heart you can stop stuffing. Place them into your baking dish and add water and/or a splash of white wine to come halfway up the sides of the artichokes. Don’t forget the butter!
- Simmer the artichokes (lid on) and then pop into the oven to finish cooking. They’re ready when the leaves are tender, about 1 hour.
- To serve, spoon that gorgeous sauce right over the top and garnish with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs, if you’d like.