Sausage & Quinoa Stuffed Artichokes

Put your hands in the air if you are as excited as I am about the Super Bowl. The commercials, live music performances (fingers crossies that Queen ‘Yonce OR Adam Levine pulls a Janet Jackson. I’d be satisfied with either) and most importantly the food. And during all of this glory there will be big sweaty men tackling each other over a ball made of pig skin that could very well be deflated this year if New England has anything to do with it.

But let’s get back to the grub. I’m already in a food coma just thinking about what deliciousness could potentially be at the pretend party that I’m probably not invited to. Wings, potato skins, wings, potato skins, and then a vegetable platter? Way to ruin it all. Vegetable platters to me are like cantaloupe. Just a filler. However I DO like the idea of something a little bit lighter to kind of balance all of the heavy scale tilting apps. 

Artichoke. This vegetable doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should….. but when stuffed and steamed it really becomes kind of a big deal. Which is why I’ve decided to stuff it with ground sausage & quinoa, while still being mindful of the waistline. Well, sorta.

Recipe Notes:

I’ve included a video on how to stem, trim & stuff your artichoke (see below). You’ll notice how I take kitchen scissors and trim the tips off the leaves that are still pointy, this step is completely optional. More for aesthetics (plus the tips are a little sharp). 

If you want a little more flavor replace half of the water with a broth of your choice (I think chicken broth would taste best). Serve warm or at room temperature. Super duper easy.

Sausage & Quinoa Stuffed Artichokes

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  1 hour 20 mins

Total time:  1 hour 40 mins

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Ingredients

• 3 artichokes, stemmed & trimmed (see video)
• 1 lb spicy italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup quinoa (cooked according to package)
• ½ cup grated parmesan
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 3-5 cups water
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. First in a medium pan over medium heat add your sausage and brown.
2. Once sausage has finished browning add your cooked quinoa and mix together.
3. Taking each artichoke, carefully peel back leaves until center is exposed (but you don't need to expose the choke)
4. Next stuff about 1-2 tsp at a time of sausage/quinoa between the layers. Continue to do this all around, packing the center with about ⅓ cup of the stuffing. Repeat this step for all artichokes.
5. Next in a large pot with a lid add your artichokes. Add water to pot (being careful to not pour water on artichokes) until the bottom leaves are almost covered but still not having water pour into the actual artichoke.
6. Drizzle ¼ cup of olive oil all over artichokes & water. Salt & pepper the tops of the artichoke (about ¼ tsp for each) and then add about 1 tbsp of salt to the water.
7. Place lid on pot and put pot on stove top over high heat. Bring water to a boil and then turn heat down to a simmer and let artichokes steam for about 60-80 minutes.
8. To make sure they are done carefully pull off a leaf in the middle of the artichoke and pull to make sure the meat is tender and can be pulled off easily.
9. Once leaves can be easily removed and are soft (meat falls off easily when pulled with teeth) add a little more salt & pepper and then top with parmesan and serve.

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