Parmesan Stuffed Artichokes have 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.
Check out this great article from National Geographic that details the appearance of artichokes and cardoon in the ancient world.
Perfectly steamed artichokes stuffed with Parmesan, garlic bread crumbs finished under a low broiler for 4 minutes.
How To Cook An Artichoke Perfectly Every Time
Cooking and Artichoke starts with Cleaning it Properly.
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 the stem. Using a potato peeler, peel the outside of the stem away to expose the tender insides. Finally, cut away the very tip of the artichoke to expose the inner petals.
Large artichokes with peeled stems and small outer leaves removed.
Place artichokes in a large pot and cover the artichokes halfway with water. Add a healthy pinch of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Place on the stove and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn it down to a simmer and cover. It takes about 45 minutes to cook the artichokes and have tender hearts and stems.
Fun Fact: What we often refer to as the leaves or petals of an artichoke are actually the bract which are the scale-like structures that protect the flower. Garden Betty has a great article on the anatomy of an artichoke.
Large Artichoke with the top trimmed, ready to go into the steam pot.
Clean the Artichokes Again
You can stop right here and serve artichokes whole with some dipping sauce. You have perfectly seasoned artichokes ready to have their hearts revealed. However, if you want to stuff the Artichokes you must clean them one more time.
Remove the artichokes from the pot and drain away excess water. Let them cook enough to handle. Then cut the artichoke in half long ways exposing the heart and choke. The choke is the fuzzy hairlike material right above the heart at the center of the artichoke.
Artichokes halved after steaming. The center of the artichokes are very tender and ready for cleaning.
Don’t Choke Now; We’re Almost There!
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 the tend to have rough tips and aren’t pleasant to eat.
Fully cleaned artichokes ready for Parmesan Stuffing.
Made a Flavorful Stuffing to Fill the Artichokes
Make the filling by melting 2 tbsp of butter in a glass bowl. Add bread crumb, Grated Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and minced fresh mint to the butter and use a fork to stir together. You should have a mixture with a nice crumbly texture.
A mix of melted butter, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, crushed garlic, lemon juice and herbs make up the fulling for these Parmesan Stuffed Artichokes.
Brown the Stuffed Artichokes to Bring all of the Flavors together.
Lay the cooked and cleaned artichokes out on a sheet pan and gently pull the layers of petals and sprinkle the filling 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 4 minutes or until the butter and cheese has browned.
Spread the filling in between the layers of leaves and fill the cleaned center before putting under the broiler.
Serve alongside any of these classic dishes.
Perfectly cooked Parmesan Stuffed Artichokes ready to devour.
“At least you’ll never be a vegetable – even artichokes have hearts.” – Amélie Poulain in the film Amélie
Parmesan Stuffed Artichokes
Ingredients
- 4 Globe Artichokes
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1/4 Cup Plain Bread Crumb
- 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice Juice of 1/2 Lemon
- 1 Tsp Fresh Mint
- Salt For the water used to steam the Artichokes
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil For the water used to steam the Artichokes
Instructions
- 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 the stem. Using a potato peeler, peel the outside of the stem away to expose the tender insides. Finally, cut away the very tip of the artichoke to expose the inner petals.
- Place artichokes in a large pot and cover the artichokes halfway with water. Add a healthy pinch of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Place on the stove and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn it down to a simmer and cover. It takes about 45 minutes to cook the artichokes and have tender hearts and stems.
- Remove the artichokes from the pot and drain away excess water. Let them cook enough to handle. Then cut the artichoke in half long ways exposing the heart and choke. The choke is the fuzzy hairlike material right 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 the tend to have rough tips and aren't pleasant to eat.
- Make the filling by melting 2 tbsp of butter in a glass bowl. Add bread crumb, Grated Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and minced fresh mint to the butter and use a fork to stir together. You should have a mixture with a nice crumbly texture.
- Lay the cooked and cleaned artichokes out on a sheet pan and gently pull the layers of petals and sprinkle the filling 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 4 minutes or until the butter and cheese has browned.
I never know what to do with artichokes so this is such a perfect recipe! YUM! I love anything with parmesan.
This looks incredible. Artichokes is one of my favorite things to make! Great recipe.
Fabulous insights on how to make artichokes the right way. And a wonderful way to bring out the flavor to its best! Yum.
This is a great recipe featuring artichokes. The flavors really highlight this incredible vegetable.
What a fantastic looking dish! Food Network better take notice! Looking forward to making these this weekend!