Artichokes are, for some, unapproachable, and to think of stuffing them with a ground beef filling takes a bit of a leap of faith but because it’s by Yotam Ottolenghi, I was prepared to take it. They are delicious, I find the dill and peas add a lovely essence and colour to the dish.
INGREDIENTS Serves 4
400g leeks,trimmed and cut into 0.5cm slices
250g minced beef
1 medium egg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons dried mint
12 medium frozen artichoke bottoms
80ml olive oil
plain flour, for coating the artichokes
about 500ml chicken or vegetable stock
90ml lemon juice, plus extra if using fresh artichokes
200g frozen peas
10g dill roughly chopped
salt and pepper
METHOD
Blanch the leeks in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, refresh and squeeze out the water. Roughly chop the leeks and place in a mixing bowl along with the meat, egg, spices, mint, 1 tsp salt and plenty of pepper. Stir well.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan wide enough to hold the artichokes lying flat. Fill each artichoke heart with 1-2 tablespoon of the beef mixture, pressing the filling in. Gently roll them in some flour, shaking off the excess, so they are lightly coated. Fry in the hot oil for 1½ minutes on each side over a medium heat. Wipe the pan clean and return the artichokes to the pan, sitting them flat and snugly side by side.
Mix the stock, lemon juice and remaining oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Ladle spoonfuls of the liquid over the artichokes until they are almost, but not completely, submerged; you may not need to use all the liquid. Place a piece of baking parchment over the artichokes, cover the pan with a lid and simmer on a low heat for 1 hour. When they’re ready, about 4 tablespoons of the liquid should remain. If you need to, remove the lid and paper and reduce the sauce. Set the pan aside until the artichokes are just warm or at room temperature.
When ready to serve, blanch the peas for 2 minutes. Drain and add them and the dill to the pan with the artichokes, season to taste and mix everything together gently.
Serve with Basmati Rice
Original Recipe Yotam Ottolenghi “Jerusalem”
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