Baked artichokes with potatoes, zucchini, fennel fronds, extra virgin olive oil, and lemon. This baked artichoke and potato casserole is one of the best and easiest ways to cook fresh artichokes.
Artichokes are a delicious and meaty vegetable you can cook into a filling and satisfying vegetarian dish like this baked artichoke recipe. Artichokes and potatoes baked in the oven with sweet baby zucchini and flavored with fennel fronds.
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Fresh Fennel Fronds
Fennel fronds are Greeks' favorite way to flavor an artichoke dish. They're the greens that look like dill and grow on the top of the fennel bulb. Most Greek fresh artichoke recipes use fresh fennel fronds and plenty of lemon juice.
For two reasons mainly. Firstly, fennel combines perfectly with artichokes. And secondly, in Greece, wild mountain fennel (which is very strong-flavored) grows at the same time that artichokes are in season.
Of course, fresh mountain fennel is not available for everyone. Therefore, most people just buy it from the store. In Greece, you can buy fresh fennel fronds without the bulb. If you can't find that where you live, try to find a fennel bulb with fronds on it. And if you can't find that either, no worries, there is a good substitute mentioned in the ingredients list below!
Ingredients
- Onion + Spring Onions.
- Garlic (you can use Green/Spring garlic instead).
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Fresh Artichokes (you can use frozen artichoke hearts but they won't be as good).
- Potatoes (such as Russets).
- Baby Zucchini (sweet, crisp, about 12 cm long) or plain zucchini cut into 3½cm /1½-inch thick slices.
- Fennel Fronds or substitute with fresh dill and ½ teaspoon ground fennel.
- Lemon juiced
Fresh Artichokes
Fresh artichokes are in season from March through May. They are sweet, meaty, and very nutritious. Also, they contain plenty of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They may even have anticancer effects according to studies.
One reason people avoid cooking fresh artichokes is that they feel intimidated by how to clean and prepare them. Indeed, the process of cleaning artichokes takes a bit longer than that of other vegetables. And I mean reaching through to their hearts.
How To Prepare Artichoke Hearts
In Greece, we cook just the artichoke hearts in a dish. They're the tender meaty part of the artichoke. The tender leaves, the ones close to the heart can be blanched and turned into a salad or used in making broth.
Using just the hearts in artichoke dishes is the best way to prepare artichokes. Because the leaves are hard and chewy and require a different cooking method and cooking time than the hearts.
And below is a picture tutorial on how to prepare artichoke hearts.
Or check out this youtube video on how to clean artichoke hearts to help you out even more.
IMPORTANT COOKING TIP: Fresh artichokes when cleaned start to darken in color very quickly. Therefore, it's important to rub them with a piece of lemon as you go. They will still get some color but not as much. Also, dip them in lemon water until you finish preparing them all.
Baking Artichoke
For tender oven-baked artichokes you need to bake them covered. Allow the steam within the casserole dish to soften them.
How long to bake artichokes? That depends mostly on their size, but an hour more or less. Run a knife through them to check if they're tender. They should feel as tender as the soft baked potatoes.
Lastly, uncover and roast artichokes for a few minutes to get some extra color on top.
Cooking artichokes in the oven is an easy way to cook them. Because they become tender and mellow but firm enough to hold their shape. There's always the chance of overcooking them and turning them mushy if you aren't familiar with artichoke cooking and decide to cook them into a stew.
Serve With
This baked artichoke recipe can be served as a Vegetarian main dish recipe along with some feta cheese or with cooked rice to soak up all the delicious oily juices.
If you want to serve it as a side with other Greek dishes, try these: Greek Lamb + Yogurt Meatballs, Lamb Souvlaki, Roasted Chicken Quarters, and Grilled Squid.
Recipe
Baked Artichokes And Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8-10 artichokes
- 11 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 80 grams (4-5) spring onions minced
- 50 grams (½ medium-sized) red onion minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced (you can use green garlic instead)
- 650 grams (1.7 pounds) potatoes peeled and cut into 5 cm (2-inch) chunks
- 400 grams (14 ounces) baby zucchini
- 1½ tablespoons fennel fronds chopped (or use dill + ½ teaspoon ground fennel instead)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- coarse sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2-3 lemons to use for preparing the artichokes
Instructions
Prepare The Artichokes:
- Pour 2 liters of water into a bowl and the lemon juice of 2 lemons. Add also the lemon cups to the bowl.
- Clean the artichokes leaving only the artichoke hearts (please see instructions on how to do this in the text above). Transfer each artichoke you clean to the bowl with the lemon water.
Make The Baked Artichokes:
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan over moderate heat.
- Saute the onions and garlic until softened.
- Add the potatoes and cook 5 minutes more. Then transfer to a baking dish (I used a 28x 21 cm / 11 x 8-inch).
- Pour 1½ cups water (you may use vegetable stock if you like) into the frying pan, scrape any remnant bits of onions, and then pour into the baking dish with the potatoes.
- Cut the zucchini to about the same size as the potatoes and add to the pan.
- Add the artichoke hearts and drizzle with 8 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Sprinkle the fennel fronds (or dill + ground fennel) on top. Season with coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Cover the baking dish with parchment paper and aluminum foil. Or if it has a lid use that.
- Bake for about an hour until potatoes and artichokes are soft when pricked with a knife.
- Uncover and drizzle the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice all over the food.
- Bake for 10 more minutes uncovered.
- Rest for 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve with extra fresh lemon squeezed on top if you like.
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