"So you really know how to cook?” asked Jezebel (an invented name) when we sat in the early hours of the morning in a small restaurant in Paris after a long, alcohol-filled night. I vaguely remembered that we spoke about food and cooking in the evening. I guess the alcohol in my blood made me feel at least like Gordon Ramsay because I answered “yes, I’m a great cook” trying to impress Jezebel.“So what would you make me for dinner?” she asked, “what do you like?” I answered with a question trying to remember when I invited her for dinner. “You said you’d surprise me and cook a special dish” she smiled at me. The next morning I tried to rack my brain for a way to cook an impressive dinner. It was clear that my flagship dish, pasta in tomato sauce wouldn’t be good enough. As always in such situations, I called mom. “Mmm an impressive dish that is easy to make...that’s simple,” said mom, “you can make Artichoke hearts stuffed with ground beef in lemon sauce!”
Ingredients
12 frozen artichoke hearts
Filling
1 lb ground beef
1 onion diced
3 garlic cloves minced
½ cup parsley chopped
½ cup cilantro chopped
1 egg
3 TBS breadcrumbs
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Sauce
1 onion diced
3 garlic cloves minced
3 persian lemons
½ cup parsley chopped
½ cup cilantro chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 TBS olive oil
2 cups water
Thaw the artichoke hearts. Cut the bottom so they can stand in the pan.
In a large bowl mix all filling ingredients well and refrigerate for one hour.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Heat olive oil in a deep pan or pot over medium high heat. Add onion and fry to golden. Add garlic and fry one more minute. Add all other ingredients but water and mix well. Add water and bring to boil.
From the meat mixture make balls and fill each artichoke up, forming a small mound. Place inside the pan, water should cover bottom half of the artichoke. Cook over low heat until meat is cooked and artichokes are tender, about 40 minutes.
