Artichokes are a special vegetable to me because of the fond memories they evoke, from eating my mother’s braised artichokes as a child to scoffing down fried artichokes in Rome’s Jewish ghetto in my 20s. I remember the fun I had eating them – scraping the outer leaves through my teeth and enjoying the crisp, moist flavorful stuffing. With my hands soiled and crumbs on my chin, I would finally get to the prize: the heart of the artichoke.
Artichokes are a versatile vegetable and the variety of ingredients you can stuff them with is truly endless. I love to enjoy them with shrimp – thus the inspiration for this recipe. While it takes a bit of technique to prep the artichokes, over time it becomes less intimidating. Before I could truly get comfortable with artichokes, I had to clean hundreds of pounds worth of artichokes and endure hands stained greenish-brown while working as a chef in Italy. My hope is that this recipe, our how-to video on how to prep artichokes, simplifies the process of working with artichokes for you.
Braised artichokes with shrimp stuffing
Ingredients
- 4 large artichokes (look for tight, round artichokes with some stem attached)
- 1 lb raw shrimp (peeled, deveined and diced into ¼” pieces)
- 2 medium-sized cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 medium-sized clove of garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ cup onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup sliced parsley
- 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (substitute with gluten free panko breadcrumbs)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup vegetable stock (substitute with water)
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 lemons
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a medium-sized (10”) sauté pan on medium heat. Add minced garlic and onions, softening onions for about 5 minutes. Cool, then add to medium-sized mixing bowl and reserve for later use
- Fill another medium-sized bowl with cold water. Cut 1 lemon in half and squeeze juice into water, then put the lemon (both halves) into the bowl.
- Watch our how-to video on prepping artichokes for stuffing. Or follow these written instructions: First, pull the first layer of leaves off the base of your artichokes. Slice the stem off from the globe part of the artichokes, so that you can stand them upright.
- Lay artichoke on its side and cut the top off (roughly ¾”-1” from the top). Carefully stretch and pull leaves open to expose the middle choke of the artichoke, which is the feathery fur-like center that needs to be removed.
- Using a small spoon, scoop out the choke. Depending on the size of the artichoke, the fury choke covers a circumference of about a half dollar or a large coin. As you scoop you will see the artichoke flesh. Be careful to remove the choke from the flesh without removing too many leaves.
- Once the choke is removed, place the artichoke open side down into the lemon water to prevent browning. (Since artichokes oxidize when exposed to air, we add acid to slow that process down.)
- In medium-sized bowl with softened onions, add panko crumbs, thyme, parsley, diced shrimp, kosher salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes and ¼ cup of olive oil. Mix together.
- Remove artichokes from bowl, drain any excess lemon water and place them on a cutting board or a plate.
- Fill the artichokes with the stuffing, gently pulling open leaves and filling small amounts of stuffing in between each layer. The artichoke should be full but not overstuffed.
- Place artichokes in pan or a pot large enough to hold and cover artichokes. Add white wine, sliced garlic and ¾ cup of vegetable stock to pot. Cover pot with lid and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer artichokes for 30 minutes until they are tender. To check tenderness, place a knife in the middle of each artichoke and make sure it goes through without resistance. Once tender, remove lid and let artichokes rest in the pan.
- Turn oven broiler onto high setting and place lidless pot under broiler to brown crumbs (about 2 minutes). Rotate pan if needed to brown evenly. Once crumbs are golden brown, remove from oven and serve with sliced lemon.
