Italian Stewed Stuffed Artichokes are stuffed with a savory meat, bread and cheese filling and simmered in a flavorful tomato based broth. Serve the broth with pasta as a first course and the artichokes as a main dish. A hearty, satisfying winter night's meal!Don't you just love a good stuffed vegetable? No doubt Italians will stuff just about any vegetable and turn it into a hearty, delicious and complete meal. And I have shared quite a few stuffed vegetables recipes with you such as stuffed peppers; stuffed baby eggplant; stuffed eggplant and peppers in tomato sauce; stuffed cucuzza and stuffed sweet mini peppers.
These artichokes are filled with a savory meat, bread and cheese filling and are unlike most stuffed artichokes you've seen before!
To serve:
These stuffed artichokes are stuffed and then stewed in a flavorful tomato based broth to which my mother adds carrots, celery and potatoes. The broth with vegetables is served with pasta, usually a small sized pasta such as shells. The artichokes themselves are the main course, or the secondo.
I recently learned that this recipe was traditionally made by my nonna in Sicily with peas instead of the carrot, celery and potato trio. Adding peas to tomato sauce is quite typical in Sicily. However, my mother had to adapt the recipe once I was born due to my then severe allergy to peas. So how do you feel about artichokes? First of all, they are quite pretty don't you think!
The idea of cooking artichokes can be quite intimidating to many. I know I definitely was for the longest time. This vegetable is part of the thistle family and certainly does not appear to be edible with those tough outer leaves and thorns. So before we get to stuffing these beauties, let me show step by step how to prep them.
How to trim artichokes:
I used 6 large artichokes for this recipe.
Prepare a large bowl filled with water and a the juice of one lemon squeezed into it.
Cut about 1 inch off the top of each artichoke.Remove the tough outer layers of leaves. I removed about 2 layers but you may need to remove more depending on the size of your artichokes.
With a sharp paring knife, trim the fibrous outer layer of the stem. Normally you would remove the entire stem as it is not edible. However, for this recipe the stem will be a useful handle when browning the stuffed artichokes in oil.
Spread the leaves apart with your fingers and using a spoon, scoop out the fuzzy choke in the center (the pink or purple colored part as seen in the photo above).
Place the artichoke in the lemon water to prevent from turning brown and continue with the remaining artichokes.
Step by Step Instructions:
Now that the artichokes are ready to be filled, it's time to prepare the stuffing.
In a large bowl mix together the crumb of day old bread; ground meat trio (beef, veal and pork); finely chopped cured Italian sausage; grated Parmigiano cheese; freshly chopped parsley; eggs; finely minced garlic clove and salt and pepper. Use your hands to thoroughly combine all ingredients well.Remove the artichokes from the water and pat dry to prevent any splattering when frying. Spread the leaves apart with your fingers and add generously pack the stuffing in between the leaves and over the surface of each artichoke as shown below. Divide the stuffing among the six artichokes.
If you ever leftover stuffing simply shape into meatballs and in the following step brown in the pan along with the artichokes. These are perfect for those who may dislike artichokes!
Prepare a large sauce pan by adding enough oil to cover the bottom and heat on medium high heat. Place artichokes face down in the hot oil and brown for about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan, if necessary fry in batches. When browned, transfer artichokes to a plate.
Remove all but 2 tablespoons olive oil from the pan. Add diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Return the artichokes to the pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
Once the water has come to a boil, add cubed vegetables (carrots, celery and potatoes). Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 1 ½ hours, until the artichokes are tender. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
To serve cook small pasta (such as shells or tubettini) in a separate pot. Carefully remove the stuffed artichokes from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Add the cooked pasta to the broth with vegetables and serve as a first course. Serve the artichokes as a second course.
How to eat stuffed artichokes:
- The outer leaves of the artichoke are tough and not entirely edible. To eat, pluck an artichoke leaf with your hands. Bite down on it and use your teeth to scrape off the artichoke "meat" along with any stuffing clinging to the leaves. Discard the tough fibrous remaining leaf.
- The inner leaves of the artichoke are much more tender and can be eaten in their entirety.
Tips and suggestions:
- If you wish, add peas to your tomato broth instead of carrots, celery and potatoes just as my nonna did in Sicily.
- Don't forget to make a few meatballs with extra stuffing for those around the table who are not into artichokes!
- Leftovers keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days.
I hope that I have been able to demystify the process of preparing artichokes for you! If you give this recipe a try let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating and/or commenting in the recipe card below. Buon appetito!

Ingredients
- 6 large artichokes
- juice of 1 lemon
For the stuffing
- 3 cups fresh bread crumbs from day old bread crusts removed
- ¼ cup milk
- 250 grams ground meat trio (beef, veal and pork)
- ¼ cup cured Italian sausage finely diced
- ¾ cup grated Parmigiano cheese
- ¼ cup parsley freshly chopped
- 3 large eggs
- 1 small garlic clove finely minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For stewing
- 3 tbsp. olive oil for frying the artichokes
- 1 can diced tomatoes 796 ml
- 6 cups cubed vegetables carrots, celery, and potatoes
Instructions
- Trim artichokes as described in text above and place in large bowl with water and lemon juice as you prepare the stuffing.
- To prepare the stuffing combine all ingredients (breadcrumbs to salt and pepper) in a large bowl and mix well using your hands.
- Remove the artichokes from the water and pat dry. Spread the leaves apart with your fingers and pack generously with stuffing as well as over the top of each artichoke. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.
- Make small meatballs with any remaining stuffing and brown along with the artichokes in the sauce pan.
- Add oil to a large sauce pan and heat on medium high heat.
- Place the artichokes face down in the hot oil and brown for about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan, if necessary fry in batches. When browned, transfer artichokes to a plate.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons olive oil from the pan. Add the diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Return the artichokes to the pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Once the water has come to a boil, add the cubed vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 1 ½ hours.
- If desired, cook small pasta (such as shells or tubettini) in a separate pot and serve with the broth and vegetables.
Notes
- If you wish, add peas to your tomato broth instead of carrots, celery and potatoes just as my nonna did in Sicily.
- Don't forget to make a few meatballs with extra stuffing for those around the table who are not into artichokes!
- Leftovers keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Nadia Fazio
My mom's stuffed artichokes are the best I've ever had. This whole is so satisfying: from the pasta enjoyed with the stewing broth to the stuffed artichokes along with the vegetables as your second course. A meal that's worth the effort!
Liliana
I haven't eaten stuffed artichokes for years. My mother and mother-in-law made the best. I don't have either recipe. Your recipe is very much like theirs. It invokes happy memories! Thanks for sharing.
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Glad it evokes pleasant memories Lily!