Talk about childhood memories, this is one for me. I absolutely love stuffed artichokes! Stuffed, fried, with butter, it doesn’t matter! I fell in love with them as a kid. I remember my mom teaching me how to eat them, they were such a treat! Usually she prepared them stuffed with breadcrumbs and for the most part that is my favorite way to eat them.
This recipe is a bit more luxurious than what I ate as a kid because of the gorgonzola. Man, I am so glad I got over my fear of moldy cheeses. Gorgonzola is super creamy and slightly pungent. I find it to be a much more subtle blue cheese and it works perfect here with the breadcrumbs. If you love stuffed artichokes and think you don’t like blue cheeses, I want you to try this anyway. It will change your mind about blue cheese.
The annoying part about artichokes is prepping them. I personally feel it’s well worth it because they are just that good.
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Here is a few pics recapping the prep:
Remove the bottom stalk so it sits flat.
Then slice off the top.
Then simmer.
Remove inner leaves and choke once cooled.
Gently scrape with a small spoon and discard the choke.
This is the heart of the artichoke after the choke is removed. Try your best to keep the heart intact.
- 4 artichokes cleaned
- 1 lemon
- 1½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 5 ounces gorgonzola crumbled
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ½ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- Fill a pot (large enough to fit all 4 artichokes) ⅔ of the way with water. Slice the lemon and squeeze the lemon juice in the pot, add in the squeezed lemon halves. Set the pot on the stove.
- Prepare the artichokes first by slicing (with a sharp knife) off the bottom stalk and cut off the top ⅓ of the artichoke. Remove the outer bottom leaves. With kitchen shears cut off the prickly tips off the leaves. As you complete preparing an artichoke add it to the pot tossing it around to coat it in the lemon water (this keeps it from turning brown). Once you have finished adding the artichokes to the pot, turn the heat to high cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the leaves pull off easily and the bottom is tender. Carefully place them upside down in a colander to cool and drain.
- In a bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, gorgonzola, garlic, parmesan, parsley and olive oil. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Once the artichokes are cool enough to handle remove the inner most leaves. Take a small spoon and scrape gently at the choke being careful not to remove the heart. As you scrape, lift up the spoon. You will be able to see the difference between the choke and heart.
- Stuff each artichoke with a ¼ of the filling into the cavity and outer leaves. Place the stuffed artichokes in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Bake the artichokes for 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Transfer to a serving tray and serve.