Stuffed artichokes
Carciofi ripieni alla Mafalda
To me stuffed artichokes has been something ‘au gratin’ in the oven, until Mafalda taught me how to make them in a saucepan.
Admittedly I’ve never met Mafalda except in Elizabeth David’s classic ‘Italian Food’, where the good lady does not get more than a cursory mention. Still, I was delighted to come across the recipe at a time with great bunches of artichokes and a very basic two burner stove. As it turned out these remedies and a few extra ingredients were all that was needed to make these absolutely marvelous stuffed artichokes and enjoy them as a substantial antipasto.
Ingredients
8 artichokes
3 tbsp bread crumbs
4 anchovies
1 tbsp capers
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh mint
Juice of ½ lemon
1 glass of white wine
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Preparation
Prepare the artichokes by removing the tough outer leaves until you reach the tender pale yellow ones.
Cut off the stem and the top.
Use a tea spoon to scoop out and discard the beardy fibres hidden in the centre.
Place the trimmed artichokes in cold water with a drop of lemon juice until you are ready to fill them.
Peel the two cloves of garlic and chop them finely with capers, mint and anchovies.
Mix the garlic, anchovy and capers with white bread crumbs.
Stuff each artichoke heart with a spoonful of the bread crumb filling
Heat up the olive oil in a saucepan and place the artichokes in the hot oil.
Let the vegetables fry for a few minutes.
Add a glass of white wine and turn down the heat.
Cover the saucepan with a lid and leave the stuffed artichokes to simmer for 20-30 minutes until they are tender.
Serve the stuffed artichokes hot or cold as antipasti starters or as a side dish with some kind of meat.
Alternatives to stuffed artichokes
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Stuffed with capers, mint and anchovies? Oh Wow! :-D
Yes, sounds good, doesn’t it?
I don’t think I’ve ever had a stuffed artichoke. Now I need to try!
They are surprisingly good. As long at the leaves are tender to the bite.