Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Artichokes!! You either love them or you just haven’t had a great one yet! / Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms (Zeytinyagli Enginar)

It's peak artichoke season, if you love artichokes but hate cleaning them continue reading. The best thing about this recipe is that not only it tastes great, it is also very easy to make.

Ingredients:
6 fresh artichoke bottoms, cleaned
If you don't want to spend time with cleaning fresh ones:
1 pack of frozen artichoke bottoms,
or
2 cans of artichoke bottoms
1/2 pound green peas
2 medium carrots, petite diced (I used 1 pound frozen mixed peas and carrots)
1 small potato petite diced
1 onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 bunch dill, chopped (you can also use dried dill if you don't have the fresh dill)*

Directions:

1. Mix onions, peas, carrots, sugar, salt, and 1/4 bunch of dill in a bowl.
2. If you are using canned artichokes drain and rinse well. If using frozen thaw according to package directions then place the artichokes facing up in a broad pan.
3. Cover the artichokes with stuffing. Do not actually try to stuff them, just put the stuffing in the pot and cover the artichokes.
4. Mix olive oil, sugar and water and pour over the artichokes.
5. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn on low for another 25-30 minutes
6. Garnish with dill and serve when it is cold with lemon juice on top. I strongly suggest making this dish ahead since it tastes even better the next day!

* Dill is the must have ingredient in this recipe, it just doesn't taste complete without it, if you don't have fresh dill at home, either use dried ones or have another trip to grocery store, it is worth it.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Esra,these artichokes are so delicious! I love artichokes and I eat them very often, usually with salad. I wanted to try something different and came across with your recipe. I tried it and it was really delicious! Just mine didn't look so nice as in this picture :) I guess I overcooked the mix vegetables. I served it as a side dish with grilled beef and we finished them all. If you have some other suggestions as for the main dish, I would welcome it. Or any other artichoke recipes, would be very welcomed! Thanks!

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  2. Dear Maria,

    Thank you so much for your encouraging comments, I am delighted that you enjoyed the recipe. I will post another recipe for stuffed artichoke bottoms with fava bean puree as soon as I can. Both artichokes and fava beans are the flavorful gifts of Spring time and I will be making several recipes to savor the peak season. I hope you will enjoy them as well.

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