Lemony Wine Braised Artichokes Recipes

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Trim 6 medium artichokes (see Cook's Note), leaving the stems intact. Halve lengthwise. Cook 2 each sliced carrots, celery stalks and leeks in a pot with 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 12 minutes. Add 3 sliced garlic cloves; cook 2 more minutes. Add the artichokes in a single layer; add 2 teaspoons salt, 2 bay leaves, 3 thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, 1 1/2 cups white wine, and water to cover. Lay a round of parchment paper on the artichokes and simmer until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the liquid.

LEMON BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Bring 1/2 cup each water and white wine, two 9-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts, 3 wide strips lemon zest and 2 tablespoons each lemon juice and olive oil to a simmer in a large skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring halfway through, until the artichokes are tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and add 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons each olive oil and chopped parsley and mint. Cook, stirring, until the garlic softens, 1 to 2 more minutes.

ARTICHOKES BRAISED IN LEMON AND OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Trim artichokes into hearts:
• Add lemon halves to a large bowl of cold water, squeezing to release juice.
• Cut off top inch of 1 artichoke and bend back outer leaves until they snap off close to base (keep stem attached). Discard several more layers in same manner until you reach pale yellow leaves.
• Cut remaining leaves flush with top of artichoke bottom using a sharp knife. Trim dark green fibrous parts from base and sides of artichoke.
• Peel sides of stem down to pale inner core. Put in lemon water while preparing remaining artichokes.
• Cook shallots, carrot, garlic, and seeds in 1/4 cup oil in a 4-to 5-quart heavy pot (pot should be wide enough to hold artichokes in 1 layer with stems pointing upward) over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add water, zest, and 3 tablespoons lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Stand artichokes in pot and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover artichokes with wax paper, then a lid, and simmer over medium-low heat until bases are just tender when pierced with a knife, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Transfer artichokes to a dish and reserve cooking liquid. When artichokes are cool enough to handle, halve lengthwise. Scoop out and discard inner choke (fuzzy center and any sharp leaves).
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then brown cut sides of artichokes in 2 batches, about 2 minutes per batch, transferring to a serving dish. Add reserved cooking liquid to skillet along with remaining tablespoon lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Boil vigorously 3 minutes, then stir in parsley and pour over artichokes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut each of the artichokes in half; remove the toughest outer leaves, use a spoon to remove the choke, and trim the bottom.
• Put 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it melts and foam subsides, add artichokes, cut side down. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add stock (it should come about halfway up the sides of the artichokes), bring to a boil, and cover; turn heat to medium-low. Cook for about 20 minutes or until tender, checking every 5 or 10 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in the pan, adding more stock as necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and transfer artichokes to serving platter.
• Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to a sauce. Stir in lemon zest and juice and remaining tablespoon butter; taste and adjust seasoning. Serve artichokes drizzled with sauce.

BRAISED BABY ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with water. Halve 1 lemon, squeeze the juice into the water and drop both halves into the bowl.
• Cut off the top quarter of the artichokes with a serrated knife. Peel the tough dark green skin from the stems using a paring knife and remove the tough outer leaves until the tender inner green leaves are revealed; it should be only a couple of layers. Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and toss into the lemon water.
• Zest and juice the remaining 2 lemons and reserve. Coat a large straight-sided skillet generously with olive oil and add the garlic, anchovies and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the garlic is very aromatic and the anchovies have dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the artichokes from the water and add them to the pan along with the reserved lemon zest and juice, the white wine and thyme. Season with salt and add just enough water to cover the artichokes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook until the artichokes are very soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the lid and let the liquid reduce until it comes less than halfway up the sides of the arties, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the thyme and toss in the parsley. Swirl and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust if you need to (you probably will). Put the artichokes on a rimmed serving platter or in a bowl. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the parmigiano on top.

LEMON BRAISED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix the artichokes and all other ingredients except chopped parsley into a medium bowl. Toss together and put into a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil on top of the stove, cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook until soft, about 1 hour. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
• Note: The artichokes will keep for up to 3 weeks, refrigerated, in the cooking liquid.

BRAISED GREEK ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS WITH LEMON AND OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Fill a bowl with water and add the juice of 1 lemon. Cut away the end of the stems of the artichokes, leaving about an inch. Break off the tough leaves around the bottom, and using a large, sharp chef's knife, cut away the tops about an inch above the widest part of the artichoke. Then trim the base by holding a paring knife at a 45-degree angle and turning the artichoke against the knife. You should end up with bare artichoke bottoms with no leaves and smooth sides. Peel the stems. Cut the artichoke bottom in half, scoop out the spiny inner leaves and the choke, and immediately plunge it into the bowl of acidulated water.
• Oil a large casserole. Drain the artichokes, take two halves and press them together to make a single artichoke, and place in the casserole, stem up. Repeat with the remaining artichokes, squeezing them into the pot with their stems facing up.
• Add enough water to the casserole to come a third of the way up the sides of the artichoke bottoms. Drizzle in the remaining lemon juice and the olive oil. Add salt to taste and sprinkle on the dill. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then transfer to a platter. Discard the liquid in the pot. Serve cold or room temperature, garnished, if desired, with fresh dill.

WINE-BRAISED CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKE HEARTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high, and add chicken, skin-side down. Cook, without flipping, until the skin is deeply golden and much of the fat has rendered, 8 to 10 minutes. (You may need to pour off some of the fat.)
• Using tongs, flip the chicken skin-side up. Let the undersides cook for another 5 or so minutes. Set chicken aside. Add artichoke hearts and onions to the pan, letting them sizzle until they get a little color, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add wine and thyme, shaking skillet to make sure the wine is evenly distributed and scraping up any golden-brown bits. Add chicken back to the pan, over the artichoke hearts and onions. Bring to a simmer and place in the oven until chicken has finished cooking and sauce is reduced by about half, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove chicken from oven and scatter with herbs. Finish with more pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of sumac, if you have it.

WHOLE STUFFED ARTICHOKES BRAISED IN WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Make stuffing:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spread bread crumbs in a shallow baking pan and bake in middle of oven until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Cool crumbs completely, then toss with parmesan, garlic, parsley, soppressata, zest if using, salt, and pepper. Drizzle oil over crumbs and toss to coat evenly.
• Trim and stuff artichokes:
• Cut off artichoke stems and discard. Cut off top 1/2 inch of 1 artichoke with a serrated knife, then cut about 1/2 inch off all remaining leaf tips with kitchen shears. Rub cut leaves with a lemon half.
• Separate leaves slightly with your thumbs and pull out purple leaves from center and enough yellow leaves to expose fuzzy choke. Scoop out choke with melon-ball cutter, then squeeze some lemon juice into cavity.
• Trim remaining artichokes in same manner.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons stuffing into cavity of each artichoke and, starting with bottom leaves and spreading leaves open as much as possible without breaking, spoon a rounded 1/2 teaspoon stuffing inside each leaf. Top each artichoke with a slice of provolone.
• Cook artichokes:
• Put water, wine, oil, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper in pressure cooker (without insert) or pot and arrange stuffed artichokes in liquid in 1 layer.
• Seal pressure cooker with lid and cook at high pressure, according to manufacturer's instructions, 10 minutes. Put pressure cooker in sink (do not remove lid) and run cold water over lid until pressure goes down completely.
• If using a regular pot, simmer artichokes, covered, until leaves are tender, about 50 minutes.
• Transfer artichokes with tongs to 4 soup plates and spoon cooking liquid around them.