Name: Lebanese stuffed artichokes
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 10-12 artichoke hearts; 1 onion; 250 g ground beef; ¼ teaspoon paprika; ¼ teaspoon 7 spice; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; 1 cup chicken stock (warmed); 2 lemons; small handful toasted pine nts

Lebanese stuffed artichokes make for such a light earthy and distinct dish, you have to at least try it once a year.

Many people are scared to make them, but they shouldn't be as they cook so quickly and are super healthy!

Plus they look very impressive and once you peel the artichokes, it's pretty striaght forward.

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Ingredients
Instructions
📖 Recipe
Top Tips
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Pairing

Ingredients

Artichokes emerge around spring time from March all the way to the summer, and they are impossible to ignore in Mediterranean countries

Once I saw them in the markets everywhere I knew I had to make some stuffed artichokes.

You want to look for firm, heavy feeling artichokes with tightly packed leaves for the freshest ones.

You can also buy them frozen which saves you a lot of work and is the next best thing.

This recipe has three elements that make it a showstopper:

artichoke hearts
lightly spiced mince meat
chicken or vegetable stock

You might also want to garnish them with toasted pine nuts but I had run out at the time of filming!

Instructions

The most important thing when preparing the artichokes is to prepare a large bowl of lemon water so they don't darken.

Literally slice up some lemons in a bowl and squeeze some juice in the water.

There are lots of videos online on how to peel artichokes, the main idea is to pull off most of the leaves till you get to the hearts, then peel around the heart so you have a little bowl shape.

Step 1: Peel the artichokes right down to the heart and scrape out the furry insides with a small spoon, add to the lemon water

Step 2: Sauté an onion and fry off some ground meat, adding 7 spice and black pepper

Step 3: In a pan, lightly fry the artichokes for a few minutes then fill them with the meat mixture and simmer in a cup of chicken stock

Step 4: Serve with fluffy rice and some of that lovely sauce

I like to add some lemon to the sauce at the end before turning off the heat to give it a zesty lift.

📖 Recipe

Lebanese stuffed artichokes

Subtly spiced artichokes stuffed with ground meat in a light lemony sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Lebanese, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Keyword Authentic, Healthy, Traditional

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

10-12 artichoke hearts
1 onion
250 g ground beef
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon 7 spice
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chicken stock warmed
2 lemons
small handful toasted pine nts

Instructions

Prepare the ground meat by sautéing an onion in some mild olive oil until golden, then add the meat, black pepper 7 spice a pinch of salt and sauté for around 10 minutes on low heat until done, pressing with the back of a spoon to achieve a fine texture.
Prepare a large bowl of cold water and add a roughly cut lemon and some lemon juice into the water
Peel the artichokes by pulling off most of the outer leaves, trim the top and stems then peel the base till you have the pale 'heart', remove the hairy 'choke' bit with a small spoon, add to the lemon water
In a pan, add some mild olive oil and gently fry the artichoke hearts for a few minutes until slightly golden
Turn the heat to lowest and add a small spoon of the mince meat mixture in the middle of the artichoke hearts
Then add a cup of warmed chicken stock to the bottom of the pan, bring to the boil (by raising the heat) then cover and reduce heat to low for around 25 minutes
Test for 'doneness' with a sharp knife depending on the size of your artichokes, adjust cooking time accordingly
Squeeze the juice of another lemon and add a little to the liquid, tasting the sauce and adjusting for salt or more lemon, before turning off the heat
Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve with rice

Top Tips

Yes artichokes involve some work but they have a very distinct earthy taste that I can't compare exactly to any other vegetable.

It's nice to vary lunchtime with a new ingredient and introduce the kids to something new.

You can make this same dish with tahini, similar to my fish in tahini or eggplants in tahini recipes.

Another way you can make artichokes is with tomato sauce, so this exact recipe but add passata or a fresh tomato sauce to the chicken stock.

I would definitely make this for a dinner party as it's looks impressive and shows the guests you have gone out of your way to make something special!