Vegetarian
Crispy stuffed globe artichokes
Sicilian cooking is all about using simple, fresh ingredients that come together to bring out rich, nuanced flavours. Globe artichokes make a really beautiful sharing dish. To eat the artichoke, open out the leaves like a lotus flower and pull off a leaf at a time, scraping the juicy flesh off with your teeth and picking up the stuffing as you go. Once you have eaten all of the leaves, cut the heart of the artichoke into chunks and eat with the remaining stuffing on the plate.
Ingredients
- 4 artichokes
- 2 slices of wholemeal bread
- 100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 lemon
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 50ml extra virgin olive oil
- Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Carefully cut off artichoke stems to create a flat bottom (a serrated knife is best for this). Cut the top third off each artichoke and pull off the tough outer leaves. Place each artichoke on to a medium-depth baking tray. Open out the leaves on each artichoke to make room for the stuffing.
- Whizz up the bread in a food processor of NutriBullet until you have coarse breadcrumbs, then add them into a bowl with the Parmesan, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper Stuff each artichoke with the breadcrumb mixture, working it down between the leaves. Squeeze the lemon over each artichoke and drizzle with a generous glug of olive oil.
- Pour boiling water around the artichokes, so an inch is covered. Oil a sheet of aluminium foil and cover the artichokes, moulding the foil securely around each one. Bake for around 45 minutes with the foil on, until the base of each artichoke is tender. Remove the tin foil and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the artichokes and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and golden brown.
