Stuffed Artichokes

I have to confess, I've never eaten an actual artichoke until last month.  I've had marinated artichoke hearts, but that's about it.  Artichokes are fun to eat, but they are certainly not a quick meal.  It takes a long time to eat, but I enjoy that aspect.  Just don't expect to wolf down your artichoke...  Remove one leave at a time, starting from the outside in.  Use your teeth to scrape off the tender part from the inside of the leaf, leaving the very fibrous leaf behind.  

I've had to do some work with this recipe.  Earlier versions resulted in very dry stuffing.  This version gives a moister result, but it is a little harder to stuff in between the leaves.  The end result is worth it, though!

Ingredients
2 artichokes
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
1 egg white
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
1/4 crushed tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
1/4 cup white wine
vegetable broth (can use chicken, too)

Preheat oven to 350.  Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut the bottoms and tops of the artichokes by about a 1/2 inch.  With kitchen shears, trim ends of the remaining leaves.

Untrimmed leaves have pointy ends, you don't want those!

Safe edges all around!

Fill a pot with about 2 inches of water, add in artichokes upside down and bring to a boil for about 15 minutes, covered.

Meanwhile, sauté chopped garlic in a small amount of olive oil until softened and just starting to brown.  In a bowl, combine garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese, egg white and tomatoes.  Mix well to combine.  It will be clumpy.

Remove artichokes from pot and allow to cool until you can comfortable handle them.  Gently spread apart the leaves without breaking them off.  Remove the innermost, smallest leaves and the hairy choke and discard.  It's easiest to do this with a small spoon, but take care not to remove the actual heart- that's the best part!!!

Artichoke innards- pretty to look at, not so pretty to pick out of your mouth!

Stuff the artichokes with the breadcrumb mixture, try to get in between as many of the leaves as you can, with the majority going in the center where the small leaves used to be.  Place in a baking dish.  Fill baking dish about an inch high with wine and stock.

Spray tops with olive oil and cover pan tightly with foil.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.  Serve with a nice salad.  Enjoy!