Italian Stuffed Artichokes

By michele080478

Ingredients

• 5 cups coarsely-chopped bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups Parmagiano Reggiano or good domestic Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 cups Peccorino Romano cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon salt or to taste.
• 1 tablespoon freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 6 large artichokes
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 slices lemon

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl and add bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, and red pepper; toss to combine.
Cut about 1/2-inch off the tops of each artichoke. With your scissors, snip off the pointed ends of each artichoke leaf. Rub a lemon on the cut ends to prevent browning. Pull off lower pedal & slice off the stem end of each artichoke so that they sit up straight. Rinse well & bang out all excess water. Spread the leaves of each artichoke as much as possible, and pack in a generous amount of bread stuffing around each artichoke. Tap each artichoke gently to let any loose stuffing fall off. Stand them in a pot or crock pot just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add chicken broth to a depth of 1 1/2 inches.
Pour a generous amount of olive oil over each artichoke, letting it seep in. Top each artichoke with a slice of lemon.
In the chicken broth in the pot- put lemon juice, bread crumb, a little garlic (sliced or pressed), oil, cheese, salt & pepper and some hot pepper.

Pot:
Bring the water to a boil, cover, reduce heat to let and steam the artichokes approximately 1 hour (depending on size of artichokes) or until the leaves pull off easily. Test for doneness by pulling out a leaf and tasting for tenderness. Check the water level after about 25 minutes, and add more if necessary.
Crockpot:
3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. Cooks nicer on low.