How To Prepare Artichokes Gratin

Artichokes gratin are considered an exquisite dish. They are very healthy and have a low calorie content, compared to other preparations.

The recipe can be prepared in different ways. It is a popular dish and there are different cooking options. Next, we opted for the variant that includes a filling in the artichokes.

It is possible to fill the artichokes with the ingredients that the person likes the most. Although it is worth mentioning that it is better to avoid products with a strong taste. The idea is that what stands out in the preparation, are precisely the artichokes.

Ingredients and preparation of the dish

Despite having a rather pompous appearance,   gratin artichokes are a very easy dish to achieve . Next we develop the cooking procedure. The necessary ingredients are the following:

• 4 artichoke hearts and 200 grams of grated Parmesan cheese.
• 1 tablespoon of mustard and half a cup of white sauce.
• 3 tablespoons of white wine and 100 grams of portobello mushrooms.
• 100 grams of mushrooms and 4 tablespoons of butter.
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper.

In the same way, to start the preparation, first put your artichokes in a deep pot and add water until you cover them completely. Put them to cook by adding the tablespoon of lemon juice.

While you wait for them to be done, proceed to cut the mushrooms, the portobello into dice-sized squares and the mushrooms into thin slices. Once your artichokes are ready, drain them to eliminate the extra liquid, so that it does not interfere with the preparation, and reserve them.

Heat the butter in a Teflon pan and when it is hot add the mushrooms and portobello mushrooms. Then, let it fry for a few minutes, remove them from the pan and reserve them in a deep bowl. Take advantage of this small recess to preheat the oven to 200 ° C.

In the same skillet, add the white wine, white sauce, and mustard. Make sure all the ingredients are incorporated very well and remove them from the heat after 2 minutes. Once the sauce is ready, add it to the bowl where you left reserving the mushrooms and mix well.

After the mushrooms and sauce are well incorporated,  taste the salt, correct it, and add the pepper.

Now helping you with a spoon, fill each of the artichoke hearts. Be careful not to break them. Arrange them in a baking dish and top with a generous amount of the grated Parmesan cheese.

Take the mold to the oven and let the cheese brown for 3 to 5 minutes. This time is important, as you don’t want your artichoke filling to overcook or burn. Just leave the artichokes long enough for the cheese to gratin.

Once you get it, you can remove them from the oven and serve them with a mashed potato or some salad. Although they can also be served as a garnish for a more elaborate dish, made up of some kind of red or white meat.

Additional tips

You can replace the filling with preparations with diced ham, watercress, leeks or include other kinds of cheese. This will depend on your taste and that of your guests.

It should also be noted that the cooking time for artichokes will vary depending on the size of the pot. Also from the amount of water you have added, it can be approximately 20 minutes.

Remember that whenever you are going to use butter or margarine in recipes of this type or in some desserts, they must be at room temperature. This will make it easier for you to integrate them with the other ingredients. Sometimes it will be necessary for the butter or margarine to be melted, for which it will be good to have a microwave oven. This unless the recipe specifies otherwise.

For this recipe we recommend using ground black pepper. However, if you and your diners enjoy that spicy and intense flavor of black pepper, you can add the pepper balls without grinding.

As you can see, making healthy and appetizing dishes can be simple and even fun. The most important thing is to have quality, fresh and natural ingredients, and try to carry out the process with care and delicacy.