1large head of garlic(You may need a few extra cloves, depending on the size of the cloves.)
5ouncesRomano cheese wedge(use Pecorino or regular Romano)
3cups water
1 ½cupsolive oil
1tablespoonfresh parsley(optional)
⅛teaspoonsalt(plus extra for serving)
⅛teaspoonpepper(plus extra for serving)
crusty Italian bread for dipping(optional)
Instructions
Clean the Artichokes
Lightly rinse the artichokes and pat them dry with paper towels. Have a large cutting board ready. It's helpful to place a dish towel under the cutting board to keep it from sliding around during the prep.
To prepare the stems, use a chef knife or long, serrated knife (with teeth) to slice off the stems right at the base of the artichoke, so the artichokes can stand up. Slice off and discard the darkened bottom tip of each stem. Rub the lemon half where you made the cut on the tip of the stem to prevent browning. Pluck off and discard any leaves attached to the stems. Use a vegetable peeler to peel away the outer, tough skin from each stem. Discard the peels and set the cleaned stems aside to use later.
Pluck off the bottom, tough leaves (maybe five or six) surrounding the base of each artichoke, where the stem used to be. Discard those leaves.
Place an artichoke on its side on the cutting board. Use a serrated knife to slice off the top 1-inch section of the artichoke. (See the photos in the post that goes with this recipe.) Discard the section that you cut off and repeat this with the remaining artichokes.
Rub the cut side of the lemon half on the top portion of each artichoke where you cut it. This will prevent the area from turning brown.
Place each artichoke top-side down on the cutting board, place your palm on the bottom of the artichoke, and gently press down. This will help open up the leaves so you can stuff them.
Use kitchen scissors to trim off the sharp edges along the tops of each leaf on the artichokes. (Don't cut more than ¼-inch off each leaf.) It's easiest to start with the bottom row of leaves and work your way around to the top. Discard the trimmed-off pieces.
Stuff the Artichokes
Adjust your oven racks to make room for a Dutch oven with a lid or your roasting pan. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the Romano cheese into thin rectangles about an inch long and ½-inch wide. Set them aside. Peel the papery skin off the head of garlic. Then peel and thinly slice each clove inside. Discard the skins. If using parsley, rinse it and pat it dry. Chop up or cut the leaves with kitchen scissors and set the herbs aside.
To stuff an artichoke, slightly pull open each leaf and place a slice of garlic inside each leaf. Then, place a thin piece of Romano in each leaf. Place the stuffed artichoke in a Dutch oven (oven-safe pot), ideally, or a metal roasting pan. Stuff the remaining artichokes and place them in the pot. Sprinkle on the parsley, if using.
Bake the Artichokes
Add the stems to the pot, placing them between the artichokes.
Pour three cups of water into the bottom of the Dutch oven. Pour 1 ½ cups of olive oil all over the artichokes and into the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle the salt and pepper on the artichokes.
Cover the Dutch oven with an oven-safe lid or two layers of foil. Bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes, then remove the pot and check the artichokes for doneness. Carefully pull off a bottom leaf, blow on it a bit to cool it off, then gently bite down and scrape the cheesy side of the leaf along your bottom teeth. Don't eat the leaf...just the meaty inside of the leaf with the garlic and cheese. If the leaf pulls off easily from the artichoke and the inside scrapes off easily, it is done. If it seems tough to scrape, cover and bake the artichokes for up to 15 minutes more.
To serve, place each Italian stuffed artichoke in a soup dish and spoon some of the olive oil mixture into the bottom of each bowl. Serve with crusty bread on the side, to dip in the oil. Place a medium empty bowl at the table to hold the discarded leaves and choke of the artichoke.
To eat the stuffed artichokes, pull off one leaf at a time, dip it in the oil mixture and scrape the inside of the leaf along your bottom teeth as directed above. Then discard the scraped leaf into the extra bowl. Add extra salt and pepper to your artichokes if needed.
Continue eating the layers of leaves until you reach the thin, rubbery pale leaves in the middle of the artichoke. You can just remove those or nibble on their edges before discarding them. Once the rubbery section is removed, you'll see the fibers of the choke. Use a butter knife to gently slide under the fibers and remove the choke layer. Do not eat the fibers. Discard them in your extra bowl (don't place them in your garbage disposal.)
When the choke is removed, you'll see the artichoke heart underneath. It will be greenish-gray and have little dots on the surface. (See the photos in the post that goes with this recipe.) Add salt and pepper to the artichoke heart and use a knife and fork to eat it.
You also can eat the stem, which should taste similar to the heart. (If the stem seems too woody and fibrous, you can skip eating it. A good stem should be tender. Wider ones are more tender than long, skinny ones.)
Cover and refrigerate any leftover stuffed artichokes for up to four days. Reheat them, lightly covered, in the microwave, along with some of the olive oil mixture.
Notes
Don't miss the step-by-step photos and extensive information in the post that goes with this recipe.Artichokes: Choose large, whole artichokes that are firm, feel heavy and have closed leaves. They should be green and not discolored.The larger the artichokes, the longer they'll take to cook. If you try this method with smaller artichokes, you should probably check for doneness after an hour.Nutrition information includes half the amount of olive oil, since it's not all consumed (unless you decide to soak up every last drop with bread.) Nutrition information does not include bread.Type of Pan to UseI use a Dutch oven when baking four artichokes, since they fit snugly and I can use less oil than if using a roasting pan. The pan needs to be filled at least ⅓ full with the olive oil/water mixture (or just under the halfway mark.)Olive Oil/Water MixtureUse a ratio of two parts water to one part olive oil for flavorful pan juices that will be infused with the taste of artichokes. If you want to cut down on the oil, you can reduce it a bit and increase the water (perhaps use 2.5 parts water to one part oil). At a minimum, use three parts water to one part oil.If some of the delicious olive oil mixture is leftover after eating the artichokes, you can refrigerate it for up to four days, reheat it and stir it into pasta, pour it over chicken or enjoy with bread.