Charlie’s Chokes

My next Italian recipe that I’m going to convert to gluten-free, is my grandpa Charlie’s stuffed artichokes. Typically this recipe is made with breadcrumbs however, I am going to substitute mozzarella cheese instead and serve it along with a side of marinara sauce.  By the way, you could simply purchase at the store gluten-free breadcrumbs, but that would be too easy. I want to see what other creative ways there are to substitute these ingredients to make them gluten-free.  The key ingredients I’ll be using besides obviously whole artichokes are olive oil, garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and the key, gluten-free substitute ingredients, almond flour, and shredded mozzarella. 

Starting ingredients

First step is boiling a pot of water while preparing the artichokes. You need to trim the bottom of the artichoke stems so they can stand by themselves and then cut about an inch off the top of the artichokes so that you’ll be able to access all the petals in order to then stuff it with normally breadcrumbs, but in our case a mozzarella stuffing. Once we see the water boiling, we will add some lemon juice and salt. Then we will add the artichokes into the pot, when we do this, we need to lower the heat to a simmer so that the petals can pull off easier. We do this for about 30 minutes then we can put the artichokes upside down on a paper towel to let the water drain out and dry. While this is happening, we need to preheat the oven to 425° and then we can begin our preparation for the stuffing.

Boiling Process

The stuffing will consist of the almond flour, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, the garlic, parsley and olive oil. Once we stir all these ingredients together, we will stand up the artichoke on its stem.

Our stuffing

Then, on a baking sheet and start packing the mozzarella stuffing between the artichoke petals. We will then roast the artichokes in the oven for about 10 or so minutes until you start to see it turn a golden color. Then just for one to 2 minutes place the oven on broil until there’s a crispness on the outside.

Once stuffed they are ready to roast

Once out of the oven, while the artichoke is still warm, you can peel off the outer petals and dip it in marinara sauce. The idea is to scrape the petal with your teeth so you’re removing both the stuffing and the artichoke simultaneously. Tasting the combination of the flavors together is key. 

This is a recipe I was looking forward to making because it was not a common appetizer we would have when visiting my grandparents. They would typically only make this once or twice a year, so I always looked at it as a special treat when they were serving it that week when having our Sunday Dinners. 

Final Product!!

My attempt at making the gluten-free Italian stuffed artichokes went pretty well. It was a fairly simple process in preparing and cooking them. The taste of the mozzarella with the almond flour dipped in marinara sauce gives it a much different flavor than with typical Italian breadcrumbs. Though I think I still enjoy the flavors the breadcrumbs provide in the traditional recipe the best, this gluten-free style is a great alternative and actually tastes more like a pizza than a stuffed artichoke.