Baked (stuffed) Artichokes

I thought you’re supposed to steam artichokes, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do this whole time. In my grad student way I’d mix and mismatch enormous pots and ill-fitting lids. I’d fabricate some kind of tin foil contraption to keep the heat of the bubbling, steamy broth in. No matter what, my artichokes would still be inedibly raw after an hour and half and I’d be hungry and cranky while they boiled away an extra hour. Even though I love artichokes to the end of the earth, I’d avoid making them, because I always had this sinking suspicion that I was somehow doing them all wrong.

My housemates in California, bless their stoner hearts, finally showed me the light. Instead of trying to steam the artichokes, you wrap them up in tin foil and bake them. This is so incredibly genius.

For each artichoke, you’ll want to whip up a batch of brothy liquid. This will go inside the foil and will infuse the artichoke with extra tasty. Here is the basic recipe, multiply it times however many artichokes you’re cooking. My advice is to use one of those jumbo pyrex measuring cups. That way you can see how much liquid you have and it’s easy to pour into the artichokes. It’s ok to have extra liquid, it really can’t hurt.

Tasty broth:

• 3 Tbs. white wine
• 3 Tbs. lemon juice
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/3 c. vegetable broth
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced and set aside

You can make the artichokes with the basic tasty broth or you can go an extra step and make them stuffed. Stuffed is actually an Italian word for “smothered in bread and cheese”.

Seasoned breadcrumbs:

• bread, broiled on both sides in a hot oven and crumbled (omg, just realized that crumb and crumbled are related words!)
• Spices: oregano, sage, garlic powder, salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese or maybe, if you’re vegan, nutritional yeast (I haven’t tried that, but it’s probably decent)

There’s probably no need to list exact amounts. Use whatever bread you have laying around and then add the other stuff to taste in a proportion that makes sense to you. I really like cheese, so my proportions were probably about half and half. 

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Prepping artichokes is fun but requires a sturdy pair of scissors. Cut the tops off the tough outermost leaves and work your way to cutting the inner leaves, too. Spread the leaves out and rinse the artichoke well. Who knows what’s hiding in there. Cutting the leaves isn’t integral to the process, but it really makes the artichoke easier to stuff. Make sure you cut the stem off each one too, otherwise the artichokes won’t sit flat in their tin foil blanket. The stems are edible and delicious, so don’t throw them away. Set the stems aside in a bowl of water with a few drops of lemon juice so they don’t turn brown while you’re prepping the artichokes.

For each artichoke (and for the stems) you’ll need a 1 square foot piece of tin foil. Sit the artichoke upright on the foil and loosely fold up the foil into a bowl, so that it’ll catch any liquid or breadcrumbs that spill. While you’re doing that, preheat the oven to 425.

Start by shoving garlic slivers in between the leaves at random intervals. Then, take spoonfuls of seasoned breadcrumbs and fill the spaces between the leaves. You don’t need to fill each leaf because you’ll be there all night. Once the leaves are filled with breading, pour the prepared broth over the whole thing, again opening up the leaves to get the liquid into the artichoke.

They should look sort of like this:

(via loscheiner)

Close the tin foil up over each artichoke. I made a separate tin foil boat to hold all of the stems. Make sure everything is covered and wrapped tightly. Place all of of the tin foil packages in a baking dish and put them in the oven. Regular artichokes should take about an hour. Super-sized monstrosities will take 90 minutes. When time is up, let the artichokes cool down a few minutes. Open the tin foil carefully, as it’s full of steam and you don’t want to get burned. Seriously, they’re going to be really hot so don’t try to eat them yet. They’re going to be so good, not burning the shit out of your tongue is worth the five agonizing minutes.