Since Passover arrives in spring, it is customary to incorporate many spring vegetables on the Seder meal. Stuffing artichoke bottoms is therefor a dish that many North African Jewish families make for the Seder. For Sephardi Jews, who eat legume (kitniyot in Hebrew), using spring veggies also means adding fresh fava beans or peas to the dish.
(As a side note, the conservative Judaism Rabbinical Assembly announced a few years ago that kitniyot are now Kosher for Passover for Ashkenazim too.) If you do not eat legume on Passover, just don’t add the peas to the dish. It will still be delicious.
Artichoke bottoms are available frozen at Middle Eastern stores. It’s also available preserved in salted water at some Whole Foods markets, Middle Eastern stores and online. Or you can, of course, peel fresh artichoke the way generations of women have done.
This dish is served over rice on Passover and on couscous throughout the year. If you’re not eating rice on Passover, you can serve with a side of roasted potatoes.
Stuffed artichoke bottoms
Course: Main courseCuisine: Tunisian, Moroccan, Israeli, JewishDifficulty: Medium6
servings30
minutes1
hour30
minutes2
hoursINGREDIENTS
8-10 artichoke bottoms (or whole fresh artichokes)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (only if you’re using fresh artichokes)
- For the filling
1 lb. ground beef
½ cup grated onion (From about 1 onion)
½ cup chopped cilantro or flat parsley
½ cup matzah meal
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- For the sauce
¼ cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
½ Serrano pepper, seeded
1-1½ cups water
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons dried mint
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ lb. green pea or peeled fava beans (without the pods), preferably fresh
- For serving
Couscous or rice (during Passover)
DIRECTIONS
- If you’re using fresh artichoke, first you need to prepare them (if you’re using frozen or preserved artichoke, skip to the next step.) Fill a large bowl half way with water and add a couple of tablespoons lemon juice. You may want to wear gloves. Tear out all the outer leaves of each artichoke until you reach the inner pale tender leaves. Use a serrated knife to remove the pale leaves, then use a spoon to remove the hairy choke, until you get a cup shaped bottom. Remove the stem (you can peel it, slice to ½ inch, and add to the sauce.) Use a knife to remove any dark green parts from the base. Drop the trimmed artichoke bottom immediately into the lemon water to prevent browning.
- If you survived the first step, continue to the beef filling. Put all the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with your hands. Use an ice cream spoon to create equal sized balls, the number of artichoke bottoms. If you have any extra mixture, shape it into balls too. You can add those to the stew as well.
- Stuff each artichoke bottom with a meat ball, pressing it gently into the bottom. Set aside.
- To make the sauce, put oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and Serrano pepper and sauté for 2 minutes longer. Add a cup of water, turmeric, mint, salt and lemon juice and bring to boil. Add cilantro and reduce heat to low simmer.
- Heat ⅛ inch oil over medium heat in a pan that can hold all the artichokes in a single layer (preferably a non-stick pan). Fry the stuffed artichokes meat side down for a couple of minutes, flip to the artichoke side and fry for 1-2 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate. Pour out all the oil and return pan to the stove.
- Arrange artichokes back in the pan, meat side up, and spoon the sauce on each one and into the pan. If you have extra sliced artichoke or extra meatballs, add them too. bring back to boil on medium heat, cover pan, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Occasionally, spoon the sauce on the artichokes. Add peas or fava between the artichokes, cover pan again and cook for another 15 minutes. If there’s not enough liquid in the pan, you can add a little boiling water (¼ cup at a time) as needed.
- Let stew stand for 10 minutes before serving over couscous or rice.
