Pork-Stuffed Artichokes / Carciofi Ripieni di Maiale

Ingredients

  • INGREDIENTS4 large artichokes (about 2 pounds )
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1/3 cup diced onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley leaves
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Grinding of coarse black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh crushed plum tomatoes

Directions

  1. DIRECTIONSWith a knife, remove the stems of the artichokes and discard them. With your hands, pull off the first layer of artichoke leaves at the base and discard them. Cut 1/4-inch off of the tops of the artichokes, and with a scissors snip any needle-like points off the leaves. Rinse the artichokes, place them in a saucepan just large enough to hold them snugly upright, and cover them with water.
  2. Bring the artichokes to a boil, cover the pan, and boil them for 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the artichokes to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle use a melon baller to scrape out the hairy choke from the center of the artichoke, and pull away the palest-looking innermost leaves. Set the artichokes aside while you make the filling.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  4. Heat a dry sauté pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the pork and cook until it begins to exude its fat. Discard most of the fat. Stir in the onions and continue cooking until the onions have wilted and the meat begins to brown. Transfer the meat mixture to a bowl. Stir in the parsley, salt, pepper, oregano, and cheese. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
  5. Fill the cavities of the artichokes with the meat mixture, packing it in gently. Place the artichokes in a deep casserole dish just large enough to hold them. Pour the tomatoes over and around the artichokes. Cover the pan with a cover or a piece of aluminum foil.
  6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, check to see if the bottom of the pan is dry; add a little water if necessary.
  7. Serve the artichokes hot.
  8. Tip: To keep artichokes upright while cooking, position chunks of potatoes between them in the pot.

This recipe was featured on Season 11 - Episode 1110.

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Comments

Mike

OK, silly question, but what do you do with the artichokes when eating this meal? I had artichokes a long time ago at a restaurant and we were to just eat the meat on the lower inside of each leaf. Same here, or is there another way to eat the artichokes here?

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