Italian Stuffed Artichokes with Lemon, Mint, and Parmesan

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This stuffed artichoke recipe delivers perfectly tender hearts and stems, with sumptuous petals coated with a beautiful blend of Parmesan, lemon, and mint. Whether you love Artichokes or have never tried them before this is the perfect recipe for you. Follow the instructions below to learn How to Cook Artichokes Perfectly every time.

I often wonder who was it that found the wild ancestor of the globe artichoke and thought, I can do something with this. It turns out reference to artichokes can be found as far back as the 8th century B.C. I would guess necessity is the mother of invention when it comes to serving artichokes, and what follows is good cuisine.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2014/11/12/artichokes/

Check out this great article from National Geographic that details the appearance of artichokes and cardoon in the ancient world.

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Make this recipe, because…

Ingredients

How to Make Stuffed Artichokes

FAQs

Diana's Tips for Success

Related Recipes

📖 Recipe

Italian Stuffed Artichokes with Lemon Mint and Parmesan

Make this recipe, because…

This foolproof cooking method will get you perfect tender artichoke petals and hearts every time.

Leaving two inches of peeled stem and exposing the artichoke heart ensures more to eat more of the best part and a beautiful presentation that you find in nice Italian Restaurants.

When you stuff artichokes, you get a lovely bit of flavorful, crisp stuffing with every petal.

Mint, Fresh Lemon, and Parmesan stuffing lifts the earthy flavor of the artichoke meat and makes for a delicious and great side dish or appetizer.

Ingredients

Fresh Mint Leaves- Many recipes will recommend fresh parsley or even Italian seasoning to make the parmesan stuffing, but I would recommend leaving these herbs alone. Mint is a surprising flavor that will elevate the artichokes natural flavor rather than disguise it.

How to Make Stuffed Artichokes

Cleaning artichokes is a labor of love, but the hard work is totally worth it in when you serve up a fantastic appetizer or perfect side dish and everybody raves.

Step 1

Start by cleaning the artichokes. Give them a good rinse, then trim the stem leaving about 2 inches.
Remove some of the small inedible petals around the outside and attached to the stem.
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the outside of the stem away to expose the tender insides.
Next, use kitchen scissors to snip off the spiky tips of the outer leaves.
Finally, cut away the very top of the artichoke to expose the inner petals. A serrated knife makes removing the top a bit easier to remove the top inch because the raw leaves tend to slip away from a straight blade.

Step 2

Place whole artichokes in a large pot with enough water to cover half of the artichoke. Then, add 3-4 tablespoons of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil to the water for seasoning.
Bring the water to a boil. Then, turn it down to a simmer and cover.
Steam the artichokes for 40-45 minutes.

four artichokes in a pot with salted water

Step 3

Next, make the breadcrumb mixture by melting 3 tablespoons of butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add bread crumb, grated Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced garlic, and minced fresh mint to the butter and use a fork to stir together. You should have a mixture with a nice crumbly texture.

Step 4

Remove cooked artichokes from the pot and pat away excess water.
Then, carefully cut the artichoke in half long ways exposing the heart and choke. The choke is the fuzzy part with a hair like texture above the heart at the center of the artichoke.
Use a paring knife or a spoon and scrape the choke out completely. I also remove some of the smaller petals from the center as they tend to have rough tips and aren't pleasant to eat.

Step 5

Place artichoke halves, cut side up, on a lined sheet pan and gently pull the layers of petals and sprinkle the stuffing mixture through the artichoke and fill the centers near the heart.
Once all of the artichokes have been stuffed, place them under a low broiler for approximately 4 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.
The high heat of the broiler will toast the bread crumb stuffing and

FAQs

Where are Artichokes grown in the United States?

Fun fact! All of the artichokes grown in the United States are grown in sunny California. ⅔ of the U.S. crop is grown in Monterey county.

How do I choose a good artichoke?

Make sure you choose large artichokes that are very heavy. The petals should be dark green leaves that are tight and well hydrated. Avoid buying anything that has brown spots. If the outer leaves have started to dry out, the heart and leaves are likely tough and have lost flavor.

When is artichoke season?

Artichokes are available year round in the United States, but prime season is spring to early summer. There is also a short fall season in early October.

How do you eat artichokes?

Start with the outer petals. Pull off a petal one at a time and scrape the meats with your teeth to remove from the petal. Eat all of the larger petals this way. There will be some smaller petals at the center that don’t have any meat on them. Discard the small petals with the choke. The choke is the fuzzy stuff at the center of the globe. The dense pulp beneath the choke is the heart. This is the most substantial part of the plant and also the most delicious. You can and should eat the whole heart. The stems are edible as well if they are peeled and well cooked.

Diana's Tips for Success

To see if the artichoke is fully cooked, poke a paring knife gently into the bottom of the artichoke just above the stem. If the knife goes in easily, then they are fully cooked to the center of the plant.

Remove the fuzzy choke and the thin immature leaves at the center of the plant as well. There is little to no meat on those petals.