Paleo Stuffed Artichokes Recipes

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Mix 3 cups breadcrumbs, 3 grated garlic cloves, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1 cup each grated parmesan, pecorino, chopped parsley and olive oil in a bowl. Trim 4 large artichokes (see Cook's Note), removing the stems. Separate the leaves; stuff the crumb mixture between each. Stand upright in a steamer basket over simmering water, cover and steam over medium-low heat, adding more water as needed, until tender, about 1 hour, 20 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and some of the cooking liquid.

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add the breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, anchovy, chile flakes and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a large bowl. Finely grate the zest of 1 lemon into the bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemon in a small bowl with the oil, then drizzle the lemon juice mixture into the breadcrumb mixture and mix with a fork until well combined and the mixture resembles wet sand. Stir in the Parmesan and set aside until ready to use.
• Fill a large bowl with ice water. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon and drop in the lemon halves. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, cut off all but 1/2-inch of the stem. Use a serrated knife to slice about 1 inch off of the top. Use kitchen shears to trim the point off each leaf, removing 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Use your fingers to gently pull open the center leaves of the artichoke then use a spoon to scoop out and discard the fuzzy choke in the middle. (Note that removing the choke takes some effort and will make eating the final product much more enjoyable.) Submerge the cleaned artichoke in the lemon water to prevent browning and repeat with the remaining artichokes.
• Working with one artichoke at a time, remove from the water and use a clean kitchen towel to pat dry. Gently pull apart the leaves on each layer and stuff with the breadcrumbs over the bowl to avoid a mess, pressing lightly as you stuff (you will use about 2/3 cup stuffing per artichoke). Gently set the stuffed artichoke in a 9-by-9-inch casserole dish (do not use glass) or a large cast-iron skillet, standing it up on the flat stem if possible, or gently resting on the side if not. Note that you will want the artichokes to be snug in the dish to remain upright during baking. Repeat with the remaining artichokes and breadcrumbs.
• Pour the wine and 1/2 cup water into the bottom of the pan. Slice the remaining lemon into rounds and nestle them into the liquid. Tightly cover the dish with foil and bake until the artichokes leaves are tender and can be easily pulled off, 60 to 75 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and increase the temperature to 500 degrees F.
• Remove the foil and return the dish to the oven. Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the artichokes from the dish with tongs and place onto a serving plate. Serve with the cooking liquid lemon slices.

THE BEST STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut top 1/4 of an artichoke off and discard. Trim off the top 1/2 inch from remaining leaves. Cut off bottom inch from stalk to create a flat bottom. Turn artichoke upside down and bang on surface to loosen the leaves. Zest 3/4 teaspoon of lemon zest from the lemon and set aside. Cut lemon in half and rub cut leaves and stem of artichoke with lemon. Repeat artichoke prep with remaining artichokes.
• Combine reserved lemon zest with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and stir well.
• Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly into all the artichoke leaves, avoiding the thistle leaves in the direct center. Work mixture evenly into each crevice of each artichoke until all of the mixture is used.
• Pour water in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Set artichokes in the pot so that they are touching, so that they may remain upright during cooking. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the leaves release very easily, about 1 hour.
• Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with more parsley if desired. Serve warm or room temperature.

PALEO STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 400f degrees
• Chop stem as close to the bulb of your artichoke as you can and then chop the top (about an inch or so in) off the artichoke so you can see the very top of the middle as you can see in my photos.
• Next, grab some kitchen shears and just snip the pointy ends of the rest of the external layers that didn't get cut. You can see what that looks like above.
• Set your artichokes aside and combine all filling ingredients together so it's formed a bit of a paste.
• Place artichokes on 2 long pieces of tin foil (enough to completely cover the artichoke and ensure nothing leaks), I arrange the tin foil in a cross or "x" shape to be safe, having the artichoke in the center, standing upright.
• Separate the layers with your clean hands and really get in there, the more you can open it up, the easier it will be to stuff it to the bottom - do your best, sometimes they're really tight - so drizzling a little more olive oil can help loosen it up.
• Now, stuff! Use half your mixture on each of your 2 artichokes with your hands and try to make sure it's evenly distributed within the layers (include the center ones as best you can). You want to get as low as possible so it doesn't come out.
• Wrap and totally cover your artichokes when done so there are no open parts of the foil.
• Place the tin foil packages on the bottom rack of your oven and bake for approx. 1.5 hours. You can give them a squeeze with your oven mitt to check them and ensure they feel nice and soft, for super large, tight artichokes, it could require 2 hrs.
• Serve with some lemon juice and sea salt or just eat it as is! To eat, simply start peeling the layers off one-by-one and scraping off the "breading" and bottom flesh with your teeth. As you work your way into the center of the veggie, you'll notice much softer layers that you may be comfortable eating all of vs. the externals which stay pretty hard on top usually. Chew it all well for best digestion!

BACON FAT MAYO

Steps:

• Combine olive oil and liquid bacon fat in a measuring cup (or other good vessel for controlled pouring). It's okay if there's some crispy bacon bits mixed in.
• Place lemon juice, mustard powder and egg yolks in food processor or blender. Process until creamy (maybe 15 seconds).
• With blender or food processor on, VERY slowly dribble in the oil (think of it taking 2-3 minutes to add in all of the oil). It should stay thick and gradually get lighter and lighter (and look more and more like mayonnaise) as you add the oil.
• I typically like to pour out my mayonnaise into a bowl and whip it by hand with a whisk at the end just to make sure all the oil is well incorporated (if you have a really good food processor, you probably won't need to do this). Store in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days.