Israeli Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms for Passover is a delicious Israeli-Mediterranean dish, which can be used as a main dish or a side and is so simple to make!
Israeli Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms for Passover are a perfect dish for the week of Passover, but especially the day before the seder as there is no matza in this receipe.
Please note: some authorities hold that cumin is kitniyos (kitniyot), so if you have a concern, check with your own authority.
A little of my cooking background
I really wanted to title this blog “If I can make it, anyone can”, because – honestly – if I can make it, anyone can.
I never really liked cooking and when I was single, a meal for me meant grilled cheese, eggs, tuna, or something else that didn’t require effort or time.
When my kids were young, I was still able to get away with preparing only a small variety of easy meals, but the older they got, the more dishes I learned to make at their request.
Still, I insisted on keeping it simple.
Honestly, I never understood why some cooks unnecessarily complicate meals. I have seen recipes that have several ingredients that don’t really seem to add much, if anything, to the dish. So, why bother?
It has always been important to me that whoever eats at my table will have plenty to enjoy and that includes my kids (I never agreed with the “You will eat what is served or you won’t eat” ideology) and, because I keep it simple, I can prepare a variety of dishes in a relatively short period of time.
I have a philosophy regarding being a great cook: Prepare food according to the tastes of those who will be eating it and they will love your cooking!
As far as I am concerned, start with the basic ingredients that make the dish what it is, adapt according to taste, and voila! you are an amazing cook!
The bottom line is that while there are certainly delicate recipes out there for specialty dishes, making delicious meals doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. It’s not difficult to impress – just make sure it tastes good.
While some of the recipes on my blog are more time-consuming than others, they are all tried and true easy-shmeezy!
Of course, one always has to consider the conditions under which they cook. Weather (humidity, heat, cold), different types of ovens, different quality of pots, etc. – all of which can affect your cooking and baking.
Nevertheless, as I said, if I can do it, anyone can!
Besides the fact that I don’t enjoy cooking, Passover is a special kind of challenge. This is especially true for Erev Passover when we don’t eat matza or anything made from matza (even matza meal) until the seder.
This recipe is simple to make and can even be eaten on Erev Pesach. You may consider the quantity of ingredients to be a bit daunting (when I see lots of ingredients, I will often just go on and look for another recipe), however these ingredient are good to keep in your home on a regular basis anyway, especially if you like Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cooking.
A nice addition to the recipe is a can of peas (or a pound of frozen) for those who eat kitniyos (kitniyot).
Note: some kosher authorities consider cumin to be among the kitniyot.
A little about Israeli cuisine
Some people complain about cultural appropriation in cuisine when food from one country is attributed to another country.
However, national cuisine in itself is often a mingling of food from of a variety of cultures, often due to a change of ruling countries and a shifting of borders.
Turkish cuisine, for example, goes back to the Ottoman Empire and was a combination of several cultures under Ottoman rule.
When people move from country to country, they will take their cultures with them and their decendents may adapt their traditional cuisine with that of their new home and, if they don’t, others might.
Chinese food in US restaurants is quite often not really authentic Chinese, but American Chinese.
Americans have created a whole variety of types and styles of pizza and pineapple pizza was apparently created in Canada by a Greek immigrant. Yet, everyone still calls them all “pizza”, which originated in Italy.
Spaghetti is thought to be an Italian food, but many historians believe that it was brought back to Italy from China by Marco Polo.
Apparently, battered fried fish was from the Portuguese Jewish community as a sabbath food and ended up in England via Holland during the Spanish Inquisition, yet everyone attributes the food to the British.
…and don’t get me started on Hummus.
When one lives in a melting pot, such as the US or Israel, it is just unrealistic to expect that food from a particular culture won’t mingle with that of other cultures.
That being said, “Israeli cuisine” is basically Middle Eastern (as opposed to Eastern European food) that was brought to Israel by Jews when they fled or were expelled from Muslim countries and moved to Israel mostly after the declaration of the State of Israel (collectively known as Mizrahi Jews).
Recipes were passed from generation to generation and, although decades have passed, the foods are still known by the culture they came from and everyone seems to have their own way of making them.
That said, there are many variations of pretty much any “Israeli” recipe, because of background, custom, or even just taste. When choosing a recipe, one has to know what actually constitutes a main ingredient – what makes the dish what it is – and what is left up to individual taste.
I personally find it very arrogant and quite irritating when a blogger(not naming names) will put “authentic” in the title of an “Israeli” recipe, as if all the rest are mere imitations. What’s worse, is when that blogger makes the recipe with her own twist and then calls it authentic!
Adding more or less of a spice or adding a spice that is not in the recipe, does not make it less authentic, but calling it “authentic” and then adding unnecessary extra ingredients above and beyond what needs to be there, is misleading.
For example, “authentic” Israeli salad (what Israelis call Israeli salad) is diced tomatoes and cucumbers. Sometimes, they will add some oil salt and pepper, but THAT’S IT. Anything else does not have to be there, but if you leave out the cucumbers or the tomatoes, you no longer have an “Israeli salad”.
So, find the recipes you like with the ingredients you prefer, add your own twists, and בתאבון (literally translated, “with appetite”) !
A little background about artichokes
The artichoke was first found in the Mediterranean growing wild, as it still does in some places today.
The artichoke (scientific name: Cynara Cardunculus) has a long history in the Mediterranean and stories have even been made up about the plant.
For example, there is a Greek myth that describes how the artichoke came into being.
Zeus, king of the Greek gods, who was known for his weakness with women, went to visit his brother, Poseidon, god of the seas. The brothers met on the shores of the island of Zinari, where there was a young local girl, Cynara, collecting shells along the beach (some versions say she was bathing).
Zeus immediately fell in love with her and seduced her, won her heart, and brought her back with him to Mt. Olympus, home of the Greek gods. Zeus granted her the status of a goddess on the condition that she would give up her life with mortals, including her parents.
Cynara at first loved the status that begin a goddess afforded her, but before long, her yearning for her parents became unbearable, so she snuck home to see her family.
When Zeus found out what she had done, he threw Cynara off Mt. Olympus and turned the poor girl into a thorny and ugly bush – the artichoke.
The Greeks and Romans believed the artichoke was good luck for the birth of a son.
There is more than one idea for how the artichoke spread through Europe and to North America.
One of these is that the Arabs brought the plant to Spain and then Spanish settlers brought the plant to North America in the 17th century.
Another is that Catherine De Medici brought artichokes to France when she was 14 and married off to Henry II and from there it spread to other European countries and later the French brought the plant to North America.
The plant found a permanent home in Castroville, California, which is located 19 miles northeast of Monterey and nicknamed “The Artichoke Capital of the World”. The town currently provides the largest supply of artichokes in the United States.
Artichokes are rich in fiber, vitamins (such as vitamin C and vitamin K), minerals (such as magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and iron), and antioxidants(which are believed to help reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease), but are low in fat.
Why make this for passover?
Honestly, I have found that people tend to get bored with the same old passover recipes and are frequently looking for new things to make that don’t result in someone saying “That again?” This recipe is unusual enough to prevent that.
If you eat kitniyot, add a can of peas to the recipe. Also, you can serve it over rice.
For those who do not eat kitniyos (kitniyot), take note that there are differences in opinion about whether or not cumin is kitniyos (kitniyot), because if it is, Ashkenazim don’t normally eat it. I contacted a few reliable sources, among them the OU and the CRC. The OU said that they do not consider cumin kitniyot and the CRC said that they do.
So, if you do not eat kitniyot, it is best you contact your own authority.
THE RECIPE SUGGESTION BELOW IS ONLY FOR PEOPLE WHO EAT KITNIYOT.
For the above recipe, just add two cups of peas before you place the stuff artichokes in the pan and cook.
Israeli Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms for Passover
Kosher for Passover Mediterranean dish of stuffed artichoke bottoms with ground beef.
Ingredients
- 8 artichoke bottoms (medium to large)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion (medium or large as desired), chopped or diced
- 4 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons salt or chicken consommé powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoon dried cilantro or 4 teaspoons fresh cilantro (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (Note that some kosher authorities consider this kitniyos/kitniyot)
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- ground black pepper to taste (optional)
- lemon juice (optional)
- oil for frying
- water
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, onion powder, coriander, 1 teaspoon of salt or consumme powder, and 1 teaspoon of turmeric.
- Shape balls to fit inside the artichoke bottoms and push in so they stick. Set aside or put in refrigerator to chill.
- Lightly fry the onion with minimal oil in a pot or pan that will be large enough for all of the artichoke bottoms and not be on top of one another (if you used too much oil, drain excess). Add, the remaining, tumeric and salt or consumme powder, and cumin (and pepper, if desired). If you like this dish a little tangy, add a little lemon juice to taste. Mix well.
- Place artichoke bottoms in pan so they are not on top of one another.
- Fill the pot so with enough water to cover the filled artichoke bottoms.
- Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes or until you can slide a fork easily through the largest arichoke bottom. (Baste occasionally so the tops don't dry out as the water will somewhat evaporate as it becomes sauce. If you feel that too much has evaporated, add a little being careful not to dilute the sauce).
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 543Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 121mgSodium: 1326mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 15gSugar: 4gProtein: 44g