Stuffed Artichokes Provençal
Artichauts Farcis
Stuffed Artichokes - Provençal
An elegant first course for dear friends
A beautiful image with the sun setting on my Provence table.
Every summer when I’m in here in Provence I look forward to seeing and cooking for a few friends that live here in Mison. Once I met them years ago, we became fast friends. We all have a huge appreciation for good food and good wine.. and we all enjoy entertaining.
I like to experiment with foods with these friends because I feel comfortable with them and know they appreciate it. I had a vision of an elegant stuffed artichoke for the first course.
I wanted a nice balance between the courses. The main dish was roasted chicken with scalloped potatoes in which I knew would be rich with cream, and also elegant shades of white on the dinner plate. Therefore, I wanted the first course to have plenty of acidity and color ! I developed the flavor profile to included lemon, spinach and garlic with the soft and meaty artichoke bottom that sat on top of a fresh vibrant tomato sauce. It turned out really nice !
The prep work for both the first course, Stuffed Artichokes on top of a Fresh Tomato Sauce. The main course was roasted chicken and Scalloped Potoates.
As always, we had a great time! The artichoke starter course was paired with a lovely white Vermentino from Cotes de Ventoux. This was a gift from an earlier dinner party and was perfect with the artichoke ! - Anne Pichon, Sauvage Vermentino 2020.
Artichauts Farcis
First Course - Stuffed Artichokes Provençal
This is a guide of what I did. All ingredients are an approximate. I take notes, but I don’t measure. I go by my experience, so you’ll have to trust yourself a little here.
Serves 8 people.
ingredients
8 artichoke bottoms (see note below)
Stuffing
a few hand-fulls of spinach leaves, stems removed and chopped. Feel free to add arugula leaves too if you want a little spice. That is what I did :)
Basically, all of the greens after roughly chopped are about 1 1/2 -2 cups.
cheese.
I used 1 cup parmesan grated plus about 1/4 cup of fromage nature, which is a plain cheese that is spreadable. You could substitute crème fraîche, ricotta, or something similar.
nuts are optional, I used about 1/4 cups of pine nuts
zest of one lemon
juice of a half of the lemon
salt and pepper
about 1/3 cup bread crumbs. I made my own for old french bread and crushed in a ziplock bag.
1 egg
Sauce
olive oil
3 to 4 shallots finely chopped.
tomatoes: I used a mix from the garden that I had. Basically equivalent to 4 large tomatoes. Two ways to prepare.
slice the tomatoes into small pieces so the skins are not large in the sauce (that is what I did)
for a more elegant sauce, peel tomatoes and remove the seeds.
about a 1/2 cup of white wine.
1 bay leaf
thyme sprigs
method
The artichoke bottoms
Three options:
Purchase fresh large artichokes, cook them like you would normally, take the leaves off (eat them ;) and spoon out the choke so you are left with the bottom
Use frozen ones. Here in France, we have Picard’s, the best know frozen food store. Yes, you read that right.. they specialize in frozen food ! Don’t judge until you’ve been there. It is the best frozen food store that exists.
Canned artichoke bottoms are the last resort. Just rinse well before using.
Because of the number I was making, I opted to save time and use the frozen ones from Picard’s.
If frozen, simply bring a pot of salted water to a boil, squeeze a half of a lemon in the water and throw in. Add the bottoms and bring back to boil. Cook for 8 minutes. Make sure they are soft and firm by poking a tip of the knife in the bottom. It should go in easily. Drain and reserve. Make sure the bottom of each one has a flat space so it can stand up straight on the plat and baking dish. And you may need to trim the artichoke if there are tough spots on the edges.
The Stuffing
This is really about finding the right consistency.
Wilt the spinach leaves in a little olive oil. Add the garlic paste and cook just until fragrant and some of the moisture has evaporated from the spinach leaves, just a minute or two. Let cool.
In a bowl, mix all of the stuffing ingredients except the egg. Then, add the egg. This is when you want to think about the texture. You may need to add more bread crumbs or more lemon juice. You should be able to scoop it with a spoon and it holds it’s shape loosely. It shouldn’t be too firm. It needs to be moist and thick.
Arrange the artichokes in an oil coated baking dish. Bake in a 190C or a 375F oven for about 30 minutes until slightly brown.
The Sauce
In pan, cook the shallots in oil over low heat for approximately 10 minutes until soft, but without color.
Add the chopped tomatoes, wine, bay leaf and thyme springs. Bring to boil the simmer for about 30 minutes covered. Uncover and season. Depending on the consistency, you may simmer uncovered a bit to thicken. Or add more wine and simmer longer if it’s too thick.
Plating up
The sauce should be warm, not hot.
The stuffed artichokes should have rested for 10 minutes before plating up.
With a basting brush, oil the tops of the artichokes.
In each plate spoon the tomato sauce in the center. Put an artichoke on top. Sprinkle fresh parsley leaves and a little fleur de sel on the top.
Et Voila!
