artichoke

How to Make Stuffed Artichokes

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stuffed artichoke

Stuffed artichokes are actually quite easy to do once you’ve prepared the artichoke. The cutting of thorns and getting the choke out of the artichoke is the difficult part. Now you just have to stuff and cook it!

Artichokes can be eaten just steamed/boiled with butter and that is a fine way to eat it.

stuffing artichoke

However, I decided to stuff my artichoke for a better dish to present to my dear and this is the stuffing I used:

  • Breadcrumbs (stale from artisan bread – refrigerated)
  • Grated Parmesan cheese
  • Lemon zest
  • Olive oil
  • Pepper
  • Salt
  • Lemon juice

stuffing for artichokes

You want the consistency of the stuffing to be slightly moist, so what I did was to pour the breadcrumbs into a bowl and then mix in the rest of the ingredients, slowly adding olive oil until it’s slightly moist.

breadcrumbs artichoke

If you’re wondering what lemon zest is, it’s the peel of the lemon that’s been grated. I know, I just found out too. smirk

boiling artichokes

Stuff the inside of the artichoke with this prepared stuffing and also get the stuffing into the petals at the side so it’s even.

cooking stuffed artichokes

I also added some whole garlic into the petals coz I heard it undergoes a transformation that makes it delicious (it doesn’t).

basil leaves stock

Next, I prepared water that goes about 1/4 up the height of the artichoke and saturated it with basil leaves from our own herb garden.

cooking stuffed artichoke

I put the stuffed artichoke in the basil filled liquid (make sure it’s *standing up*) and squeezed one (1) whole lemon all around it before throwing in the lemons.

stuffed artichokes

The pot is put on a slow boil with the lid on for about an hour. Mine was a fairly huge artichoke so it took me about 1 hour 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the petals are tender.

eating artichoke petals

The eating of an artichoke is quite interesting and fun! I had this with my better half and we took turns peeling off the artichoke petals…

gripping artichoke petals

…and dabbing it in butter before squeezing the good stuff out with your teeth.

artichoke petals

This is actually quite a fun way to eat! You have to grip the artichoke petal between your teeth with the fleshy end down (the part you peel from the artichoke) and pull it through your teeth!

eating artichoke

I can see why they put artichokes in the aphrodisiac category! 😉

Guide to cooking an artichoke

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preparing artichoke

I had a lot of fun doing this step-by-step guide to cooking and eating an artichoke. It’s an unusual vegetable which a lot of people avoid due to the difficulty in preparing it. It’s actually not that hard, you just need a sharp pair of kitchen scissors and *a lot of lemons*!

removing artichoke spines

The first one is to snip off the spines of the globe artichoke and the latter is to prevent the rapid oxidization (artichokes almost turn immediately brown when you cut into it).

You will need:

  • 2-3 lemons
  • Sharp kitchen scissors
  • Slicing knife
  • A sturdy metal spoon

eating artichokes

The artichoke we got cost RM 24.69. It’s RM 45.90 per kg and I calculate that each petal costs over RM 1! That’s coz the grocery sells the artichoke with a huge stem (which you can’t really eat).

cutting artichoke thorns

The first thing you do is to snip off the sharp spines in the individual petals on the artichoke. Just use your kitchen scissors to cut it off so a flat edge is formed.

artichoke lemons

You will need to squeeze lemon juice (or rather dip the lemon half into the cut petal) as soon as you snip the thorns off. This is to prevent it from turning brown. Get those lemons ready!!! smirk

artichoke stem

Once you have worked over the entire green artichoke and removed all the thorns, it’s time to cut off the stem. You need to get the stem level to the artichoke or about 1 inch from the end, depending on the recipe.

cutting artichoke

I think the stalk on my artichoke was a good 3-4 inches. It makes it look pretty, like a flower, but most people don’t eat the stem.

opening artichoke

Now that everything is done, you need to remove the choke in the artichoke – use a sharp knife to slice 3/4 of an inch off the top of the artichoke. Remember to squeeze lemon juice all over the artichoke when you do this to prevent oxidization.

removing artichoke

The next part is where your study metal spoon comes in…you need to use it to dig into the artichoke so you remove the choke. Think of it as using the spoon to eat a particularly hard frozen iced confectionery. That’s the same motion you should be using. Dig down and remove!

removing choke

Some people can remove it with one dig but I never could. That’s not important, the important thing is to get the entire choke out since that’s totally inedible. It’s the pink/purple interior of the artichoke that comes with fibres that looks like asbestos.

artichoke choke fibers

I’m kidding, I don’t know what asbestos fibers look like but I imagine it’s similar to these! It’s almost feather like to the touch and you have to remove every single bit of the choke.

cleaning artichoke

Make sure your artichoke is clean and free of the choke by a simple visual inspection (you can leave the heart in – that’s edible) and it’s ready to cook! You now have a clean artichoke!

dressed artichoke

I did a stuffed artichoke from this with breadcrumbs and garlic – I’ll put that up soon! 🙂

Sautéed Jerusalem artichokes with garlic and mushrooms in white wine

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jerusalem artichokes

Jerusalem artichokes is a bit of a misnomer. They’re neither artichokes nor do they hail from Israel. I heard the name “Jerusalem” comes from the Italian word for sunflower – girasole. This vegetable belongs to the sunflower family and it’s a small, lumpy, brown-skinned tuber instead of the beautiful green of the true globe artichoke.

Here’s a photo of an artichoke with Jerusalem artichokes side by side. They look very different coz they *are* completely different things. I got both of them while grocery shopping yesterday.

jerusalem artichokes vs artichokes

I found a recipe by Jamie Oliver for Sautéed Jerusalem Artichokes and modified it a bit. I cooked this last night for dinner while my better half came out with the protein dish. You will need:

preparing jerusalem artichokes

  • 200 grams Jerusalem artichokes
  • 100 grams Portobello mushrooms
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 100 ml dry white cooking wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste

peeling jerusalem artichokes

The hardest part about cooking Jerusalem artichokes is the peeling bit. The tubers are tiny and knobbly and it’s really hard to get a grip on the little things to peel away the skin. After that labor intensive process is done (enlisted the help of my dear – she volunteered after listening to the choice French phrases I directed at the tubers smirk) you just need to slice them into chunks.

I sautéed the the Jerusalem artichokes in a pressure frying pan with olive oil and some thinly sliced garlic until golden brown before adding in 50 ml of dry white wine (eye-balled it) and putting the lid back on.

cooking jerusalem artichokes

I waited for 15 minutes and then put the sliced Portobello mushrooms in and adding the remaining 50 ml of white wine. I let it reduce (only takes a while coz the mushrooms absorb the wine) and served it up with some basil from our own herb garden.

We were both pleasantly surprised by the taste – the Jerusalem artichokes are crunchy and sweet! I thought it was just a bit of sales talk (grocery place-card says the tubers can be sweet) but it really is deliciously crisp and sweet! It’s a delicious dish, but Jerusalem artichokes sells for RM 39.90 per kg over here so it’s more expensive than local offerings.

sauteed jerusalem artichokes

I’ll love to eat it again though. I can see a lot of possibilities e.g. puréed, deep fried etc. I’m going to do a stuffed globe artichoke tonight so it’s back-to-back artichokes (except the Jerusalem artichoke is actually a tuber). 😀

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