Rice Stuffed Artichokes With Lemon Sauce Recipes

THE BEST STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut top 1/4 of an artichoke off and discard. Trim off the top 1/2 inch from remaining leaves. Cut off bottom inch from stalk to create a flat bottom. Turn artichoke upside down and bang on surface to loosen the leaves. Zest 3/4 teaspoon of lemon zest from the lemon and set aside. Cut lemon in half and rub cut leaves and stem of artichoke with lemon. Repeat artichoke prep with remaining artichokes.
• Combine reserved lemon zest with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and stir well.
• Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly into all the artichoke leaves, avoiding the thistle leaves in the direct center. Work mixture evenly into each crevice of each artichoke until all of the mixture is used.
• Pour water in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Set artichokes in the pot so that they are touching, so that they may remain upright during cooking. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the leaves release very easily, about 1 hour.
• Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with more parsley if desired. Serve warm or room temperature.

STUFFED ARTICHOKES WITH LEMON ZEST, ROSEMARY AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a large bowl with water and squeeze juice from two lemon halves into water. Cut off artichoke stems, peel them with a vegetable peeler, rub them all over with remaining lemon half (this prevents browning) and drop them into water.
• Use a heavy, sharp knife to cut top 1 1/2 inches off an artichoke. Pull out pale inner leaves from center. At the bottom, where leaves were, is a furry bed, the choke. Use a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works wonderfully) to scoop out choke. Next, using kitchen shears or a pair of scissors, trim pointy ends from outer leaves of artichoke. As you work, rub lemon half over cut parts of artichoke. When you are finished trimming, drop artichoke into bowl of lemon water. Repeat with remaining artichokes.
• To prepare stuffing, in a large bowl combine lemon zest, bread crumbs, Parmesan, chopped parsley and rosemary. Mince 6 garlic cloves and add to bowl. Finely chop one carrot and add to bowl along with capers, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss.
• In a small roasting pan or baking pan large enough to hold artichokes, scatter onion slices. Add reserved artichoke stems, 4 sprigs parsley and remaining garlic cloves. Slice remaining carrot into rounds and add to pan.
• Holding artichokes over stuffing bowl, stuff choke cavity and in between the leaves with bread crumb mixture. Stand stuffed artichokes upright in pan and generously drizzle olive oil over center of each artichoke.
• Fill pan with water until it reaches 1/4 way up the artichokes. Add wine and remaining salt and pepper to water. Cover pan with foil and poke several holes in foil. Bake artichokes for about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender; when done, a knife should be easily inserted into artichoke and a leaf should be easily pulled out.

RICE STUFFED ARTICHOKES WITH LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• Fill a large pot (a stock pot works well) with cold water; roll the lemon on the counter with your palm to "loosen" juices, then cut in half and squeeze the juice into the pot of water and toss in the squeezed lemon halves.
• Trim the artichokes: cut off the top quarter from the artichokes and discard, remove the bottom and tough outer layer of stem, snap off the tough outer leaves from the base, remove dark green areas of the base.
• Cut artichokes in quarters and remove the choke and small purple leaves.
• Add trimmed and quartered artichokes to the pot of water, cover, and simmer over medium heat until tender, about 45 minutes; drain and set aside to let cool.
• (Microwave method: cut off stems and loose outer leaves from artichoke. Cut of 1-inch from tops. Snip off sharp leaf tips. Brush cut edges with lemon juice. Place artichokes and water in a casserole. Cover with vented clear plastic wrap. Microwave, covered, on 100% power for 7 to 9 minutes or just till tender, rotating casserole a half-turn after 4 minutes. Let stand, covered, while preparing stuffing.)
• In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter; saute the green onion and carrot for 5 to 7 minutes, until vegetables begin to brown.
• Stir in the ground sage, coating the vegetables well.
• Add the cooked rice and stir well, and saute for an additional 5 minutes; remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place artichoke quarters in a lightly buttered baking dish.
• Spoon rice stuffing onto each artichoke, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, until the Parmesan browns a little.
• Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: in a saucepan stir together the chicken broth, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, cornstarch, and white pepper. Heat over medium temperature for about 5 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
• In another bowl, whisk HALF of the hot sauce mixture into the egg yolk, combine well; then return the yolk mixture into the remaining sauce mixture and simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes to desired consistency. Check sauce for any possibly needed additional salt and pepper.
• Transfer stuffed artichokes to a warm serving platter.
• Pour sauce around the artichokes.