Grandma’s Sicilian Stuffed Mini Artichokes

My beautiful Sicilian grandmother cooked the most delicious, simple and rustic foods. Her kitchen always smelled of sautéing garlic and olive oil and she had a gift for elevating every leftover in her refrigerator into something new and delicious. Some of her specialties were lentil soup, “polpette,” or seasoned, flattened meatballs, homemade manicotti and if we were lucky, she would make her famous stuffed artichokes. Her breadcrumb filling was explosive with flavor, fresh parmesan, lots of garlic, and her secret ingredient, dried mint from her garden, which provided such a subtle but unique flavor.

I always associated artichokes with my grandmother. They were kind of her thing. Then last spring, I had the amazing experience of being in Rome with my family during “artichoke season,” and realized how deeply rooted this glorious vegetable is in Italian culture and pride.

There were literally towers and garlands made of artichokes and people shucking their stalks en masse in front of restaurants and markets. It was such a beautiful sight! And since they were literally EVERYWHERE, I had the chance to try them them lightly fried, roasted, poached in wine and in sauces over pasta. It was wonderful to see this unique vegetable celebrated in so many iterations. But at the end of the day, my favorite preparation is still my grandmother’s simple and satisfying stuffed artichokes. That’s the beauty of the foods of our childhood. No matter how old or far away we are, they ground us in joy and always feel like home.

My grandmother made large globe artichokes that served as meal in itself. You can fill any size artichoke with this delicious stuffing. But, I find the mini artichokes just darling and feel like they make a very rustic dish a little more elegant. I love making them as an appetizer to accompany a bright, fresh caprese salad. Minis aren’t always easy to find off season, but I see them more frequently in the spring.

Ingredients

• BREADCRUMBS: Homemade or store-bought plain breadcrumbs,
• PARMESAN CHEESE: This is such an important flavor in this recipe. It’s worth grating fresh.
• FRESH MINT: My grandmother used dried mint from her garden, but I like to use fresh minced mint. It creates such a bright and unique flavor.

• 1. Let the artichokes soak in water to remove any trapped dirt and then drain.
• 2. Remove stems evenly so the artichokes can sit upright.
• 3. Using kitchen shears, trim the pointed edges off of the leaves.

• 4. To prevent oxidation, soak the artichokes in lemon water.
• 5. Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, mint, parmesan, salt and pepper together. Add olive oil and mix.
• 6. Loosen and spread the leaves apart to make it easier to stuff the leaves.

• 7. Using a small spoon. pull the leaves with one hand and fill them with the stuffing.

• 8. Fill a large saucepan or Dutch oven with white wine and nestle artichokes in it. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Simmer for about 50 minutes with the lid on. Remove an artichoke and test an outer leaf to ensure desired doneness. Continue cooking for up to hour or until it is cooked to your preference.

Eating them is half of the fun. Pull each leaf off and scrape the breading off with your teeth. As you get to the inner leaves, they will be much more tender and you can eat the leaf and the stuffing. For the tender minis, I use a fork and knife to eat the interior, including the artichoke heart.

It’s so special to me to teach my kids how to make this ancient family recipe that goes back so many generations. I think my grandmother would be so pleased.

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