Actually, we filled the artichokes with two different kind of cheese. Then we covered the vegetables with a crispy pastry lid.
Drawing something onto the lid surface is a trick to make the artichokes funny.
Briefly bake, et voilà, the best artichokes ever are ready for dinner. Enjoy!
Serves 4
- 8 artichokes
- 250 g pie crust (pate brisée)
- 2 tabsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 200 g fresh ricotta cheese (or other fresh cheese)
- 100 g semi-hard cow cheese
- 50 g grated Parmigiano
- 20 g grated Pecorino cheese
- 50 g speck (or other cold cuts)
- 2 egg yolks
- a bit of milk
- the juice of half a lemon
- handful of parsley
- 1 clove of garlic
- sea salt, back pepper powder, extra vergin olive oil, to taste
Difficulty: medium – Time: 1 hour
Take a large pot. Bring to a boil about two litres of water adding a tablespoon of sea salt, the parsley, the garlic and a drizzle of oil.
Meanwhile, clean and rinse the artichokes, remove the external and tougher leaves, cutting off the sharp leaf tips.
Boil for five minutes. Drain upside-down for a while (see image above).
Slightly beat the eggs.
Chop the semi-hard cheese and the cold cuts.
Take a bowl: put inside the cheeses (ricotta, semi-hard cow cheese, grated cheeses), the beaten egg yolks, the cold cuts. Add a pinch of salt and a generous pinch of powdered black pepper.
Gently open the artichokes leaves with your hands and fill the vegetables with the stuffing.
Unfold the pie crust and using a pasta cutter cut 8 rings to top the artichokes.
Make some small cuts onto the pastry surface, then brush with the milk.
Place the stuffed artichokes into a capable baking tin: they need to stand up.
Add half a glass of water into the tin. Bake in preheated oven to 180°C for half an hour.
Enjoy!
