There is no other vegetable -- no other food really -- that I feel quite as passionately about as I do artichokes.
When I buy a new cookbook the first thing I do is check the index for artichoke recipes, and whenever I pick up a menu the first thing I scan for is artichokes. I would happily eat artichokes seven days a week.
I worry sometimes that my artichoke love clouds my vision or, more specifically, unduly influences my taste. If it's artichoke, I love it --unquestioningly and possibly undiscerningly.
This is pretty minimalist -- little more than artichoke, and as I happily ate my artichoke cannelloni last night I asked my husband if it was as good as I thought it was. He answered politely that it was good, that the tomato sauce and the pasta were really good, and the artichokes were also good, but that he wasn't...(he paused carefully here)... as crazy about artichokes as I was.
This didn't jolt me from my happy artichoke moment one bit. I merely pass this along because if you only feel so-so about artichokes, this won't be worth the effort involved. On the other hand, if you're also artichoke-crazed, I think you'll be extremely happy with this.
Artichoke Cannelloni
2 14-oz bags frozen artichoke bottoms
1 medium onion, diced
1 lb. ricotta
Salt
Pepper
Fresh pasta (I make ½ batch of this recipe) cut into six inch squares.
Tomato sauce (I use this recipe.)
1. Thinly slice the artichoke bottoms (this can be done while they’re still frozen and in fact they’ll be better if you do it while they’re still frozen) and then cut into half-inch pieces.
2. Put a good glug of olive oil in a large skillet. Heat this over medium heat and then add the onions. Cook the onions down for a few minutes and then add the artichoke pieces. Turn the heat to medium high and cook until the artichokes are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Mix the artichokes with the ricotta. Taste again. Adjust seasonings. Does it taste good to you? If it does, you’re good to go. Put the artichoke mixture aside. (This can also be done the day before you plan on making the cannelloni.)
4. Cook the pasta four or five sheets at a time until just al dente. Drain, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking and then pat dry. Spread a thin layer of the artichoke mixture on the pasta, leaving a border of about 1/2 inch around the edge. Roll the pasta up and place seam side down in a baking dish that has been lightly coated with tomato sauce. I’m usually able to fit 10 to 12 in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. This will be enough to fill two pans.
5. Cover the top of the cannellonis with tomato sauce. Cover the baking dish with a piece of foil and bake for about 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so. When everything is good and hot, it’s ready.
Depending on how many canneloni you have and the appetite of those you're serving, this will serve 4 to 6.
This can be prepared in advance up until the point of baking. And if all this fresh pasta making and cannelloni rolling is too much for you, I have used this filling for a lasagna made with boxed lasagne noodles and though those lasagna noodles are nowhere near as good as freshly made they're still plenty good. Simply layer this filling, tomato sauce, and noodles. A grating of Parmigiano-Regianno between the layers is good, as is béchamel sauce if you're feeling up to it. Or not. It will be fine without it.
My favorite part of artichoke cannelloni? Leftovers! I'm looking forward to lunch today.
I love artichokes, and while perhaps not quite as much as you, I'm willing to give this a try!
Posted by: Lisa (Homesick Texan) | January 09, 2008 at 12:46 PM
I'm bookmarking this recipe, Julie - I love artichokes!
I'm pretty sure your "obsession" for them will come back eventually. :)
Posted by: Patricia Scarpin | January 09, 2008 at 02:01 PM
YUM!!! I got a nice food present at Christmas of an artichoke/lemon pesto from Bella Cucina in Atlanta.
Posted by: Fairfax | January 09, 2008 at 07:20 PM
You had me at "artichoke."
Posted by: Kitt | January 10, 2008 at 02:49 AM
you know, Julie, I´ve come to associate artichokes with you. I like them well enough, but I´ve never met anyone like you for real, true love of them.
Sounds like a good recipe, though I might substitute. All the frozen artichoke hearts I´ve found were fibrous, it was like chewing a carpet.
Posted by: lobstersquad | January 10, 2008 at 05:40 AM
I'm not what I'd call artichoke crazed, but I do love them enough to try this recipe. I'm bookmarking...
Posted by: Lydia | January 10, 2008 at 07:10 AM
Artichokes are one of those things -- I always want to experiment with them more but when I'm in the grocery store staring down an artichoke, all I can think is, "Do I steam? Do I roast? What do I do with you?" This looks like a great recipe to start out with.
Posted by: Andrea | January 10, 2008 at 10:47 AM
I adore artichokes too! They are a highlight of springtime for me. My all-time favorite way to eat them is stuffed with an Italian bread, olive, and cheese stuffing and steamed on the stovetop. Oh, how I love them. I'm definitely trying this recipe!
Posted by: Susan from Food Blogga | January 10, 2008 at 05:57 PM
Oh, yum. I love artichokes - and somehow in my almost 30 years of life I have missed the fact that you can buy them frozen - what a smart idea!! I'm going to go and find them and try this...Happy New Year, Miss Rachael!
Posted by: michelle | January 10, 2008 at 07:58 PM
i can just tell how delicate the flavors are here. i love artichokes too. me too, i missed the frozen artichoke train untill a few months ago. this looks amazing!!
Posted by: ariaa | January 10, 2008 at 10:49 PM
I also love artichokes--and wrapping them in the fresh pasta is perfect. I wish you had some artichoke bushes in your yard.
Posted by: sher | January 12, 2008 at 02:13 AM
Man, these look awfully good. I just have to find these frozen artichoke bottoms of which you speak. I am very nearly as fond of artichokes as you are, and used to request them with my birthday dinner yearly, as a child.
Am I imagining this, or did you say they came from Trader Joe's? We have one nearby, but it's a bit of a trick for me to get to. Still....
Posted by: Lindy | January 12, 2008 at 09:13 PM
Yup, I'll do this! I love them, also. We were at a restaurant in CA years ago that served artichokes for every course.
My next goal is to make it to the Asparagus Festival where they do that as well. We're rather fond of the "A" vegetables!
Posted by: Katie | January 14, 2008 at 03:33 PM
I adore artichokes as much as you. We put them in our salads all the time. I'm trying this ASAP, though making my own pasta dough may not happen. Any short cut suggestions?
Posted by: Anne | January 14, 2008 at 05:38 PM
I am artichoke crazy too! At first I was worried your recipe was actually going to call for cleaning fresh artichokes, but I was very relieved to see frozen ones. I have made a Marcella Hazan lasagna recipe a few times with just bechamel and frozen artichokes, no ricotta and sauce, and it is delicious also.
Posted by: anna maria | January 14, 2008 at 11:54 PM
I love artichokes more than anything else. It would be the food I would take to a desert island. I will try this .
Thanks lady !!!
Posted by: the bee | January 15, 2008 at 02:23 AM
Hi Julie,
In the last few months, you may remember receiving an email invitation to become a part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Program. With all the recipe-writing and food photography to be completed, we know emails can easily get lost in the shuffle, so Foodbuzz would like to re-extend our offer of inviting you to be a part of our food blogger network. I would love to send you more details about the program, so if you are interested, please email me at [email protected].
And I seem to have found everyone I know has either a love or hate relationship with artichokes. Thankfully I'm one of the former. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Cheers!
Shannon Eliot
Editorial Assistant, Foodbuzz.com
[email protected]
Posted by: Shannon | January 17, 2008 at 02:35 PM
Totally unlike you, artichoke is one of the veggies I am a bit hesitant cooking with:) but my hubby has made me eat it a few times wrapped in such delcious delicacies I think I can hadle them now:)
btw, I have a Game Night blog event this month, and it'd be great if you could join in!:)
Posted by: Mansi | January 18, 2008 at 07:56 PM
it looks so delicious, i'm gonna try this one.
Posted by: isac | January 19, 2008 at 07:17 AM
I know exactly what you mean-- and I have a vivid memory of the first time I ever tasted artichoke. I was about ten years old and my grandmother had prepared two for herself and my mother (and grilled cheese sandwiches for the children). I insisted on a taste and thought it was the most wonderful vegetable I had ever tasted in my short life!
Lovely-looking recipe!
Posted by: Ann | January 22, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Hmm ... not sure if I've ever encountered an artichoke freak such as you :) I do like artichokes, but you have a whole different level of worship for them! :)
And this looks delicious, I've never worked with frozen artichokes - guess I'll have to try this!
Posted by: Kaykat | January 25, 2008 at 03:37 PM
Lisa, if you try it let me know how it goes.
Patricia, my artichoke obsession has gone nowhere. It’s very much here.
Oh, Fairfax! Artichoke lemon pesto sounds delicious.
You’re my kind of woman, Kitt!
lobstersquad, heh! chewing on carpet! I rarely find a frozen one that hasn’t been well trimmed of any and all fibrous parts but every now and then I do. I just trim a little more.
Lydia, not artichoke crazed? OK, well I suppose it’s a good thing not to be overly fixated on any food.
Andrea, if I were using fresh artichokes for the first time I’d probably start with steaming since that’s so drop dead easy. And it’s fun to eat them that way.
Susan, that’s one way I’ve never had artichokes and it sounds delicious. I hope you post a recipe sometime soon.
Michelle, I’m excited to have found frozen artichokes. I’d prefer fresh but that’s not always feasible or affordable on the east coast. The frozen are a good substitute.
Aria, I really like it, but again, I’m truly not discriminating when it comes to artichokes. I love it all.
Sher, I wish I could grow artichokes too! You probably could though. You’re in artichoke country, aren’t you?
Lindy, I’ve never seen them at Trader Joe’s but I’ve never looked. These come from a middle-eastern grocery store and I understand they’re routinely stocked in most middle-eastern grocery stores. Probably something you’d find on the strip in Pittsburgh.
Katie, going to the artichoke festival is one of my goals too! And that meal where they served artichokes for every course? I would LOVE that. Well not for dessert. But artichokes for every course followed by dessert would be my idea of a perfect meal.
Anne, I prepared artichokes this way to make this a few weeks ago and then didn’t have time so I made them as a lasagna filling instead and I used those no-boil noodles and it was pretty ok. In fact, everyone seemed very happy with it.
anna maria, I know that Marcella Hazan recipe and I’ve made it and it IS delicious!
bee, if I’m ever on a desert island I’d like to have artichokes too.
Thanks, Shannon.
Mansi, your game night idea looks wonderful. I’ll try to come up with something.
Cool, Isac. I hope you like it.
Ann, great memory! And as much as I like grilled cheese, it doesn’t begin to compare to artichoke.
kaykat, artichoke freak is exactly the right term!
Posted by: Julie | January 28, 2008 at 01:58 PM
Blinded by artichoke love? Yeah, I know that feeling ;-) What is it about them? Why do we love them so much? No clue. But I'm happy to love them utterly and completely none the less. Thanks for the wonderful recipe. You know I'll be making this soon :-)
Posted by: ann | February 01, 2008 at 09:00 AM
Oooohhhh, I want some of this. I looove artichokes.
Posted by: roopa | April 09, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I've been following your blog for quite a while and enjoying your wealth of good recipes. When Foodista announced that they are going to publish the best food blogs in a full color book that will be published by Andrews McMeel Publishing Fall 2010, I naturally thought of you. This recipe would be a good submission! You can enter here: http://www.foodista.com/blogbook/submit
Cheers,
Melissa
[email protected]
Editor and Community Developer
Foodista.com -- The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edi
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