Golden stuffing in a lovely artichoke is nice to share between two, or multiply the recipe and make as many as you need for a dinner party.
- 1 large artichoke
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- 1/2 cup fresh or panko* bread crumbs (*in the Asian section of supermarkets)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and chopped
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
With serrated knife, cut off the top third of the artichoke, about 1 inch, and discard. Trim the leaves around the base and trim the thorny tops of the remaining outer leaves using kitchen scissors. Rub the entire cut surface with lemon to prevent browning. Cut the bottom of the artichoke level so it sits upright. Squeeze the remaining lemon into a 3-quart pot with 1 inch of water. Boil over high heat, and add the artichoke. Reduce the heat, and cover and steam until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Drain. When cool enough to handle, pull out the prickly center leaves from the artichoke and scrape out the fuzzy choke using a teaspoon. (Don't cut the heart.) Discard. Preheat oven to 400?F. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, basil and salt and pepper. Mix well. Add 2 teaspoons of the chicken broth just until a moist, not wet, mixture is created. In a pie plate, add the remaining broth. Spoon bread mixture between artichoke leaves and into center cavity.
Place artichoke in pie plate, and bake until stuffing is golden and artichoke is warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes.
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