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Home » Side Dishes and Mezzes » Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms (Zeytinyagli Enginar)

Published: May 1, 2021 by Zerrin & Yusuf

Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms (Zeytinyagli Enginar)

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This recipe for stuffed artichoke bottoms (zeytinyagli enginar) is the most popular dish made with artichokes in Turkey. It is made with peas, carrots, olive oil and fresh dill. It is light yet so tasty!

Artichoked bottoms stuffed with cooked peas, potatoes and carrots garnished with lemon wedges and fresh dill on a white plate with blue stripes.

This veggie stuffed artichoke bottom recipe is one of the most delicious Turkish dishes and it is always served cold or at room temperature. It is known as one of the best spring dishes in Turkey.

Jump to:
  • What Is Zeytinyagli Enginar?
  • What Are Artichoke Bottoms?
  • About The Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Tips
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • More Turkish Vegetable Dishes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

What Is Zeytinyagli Enginar?

When transtlated word to word, zeytinyagli enginar means artichokes with olive oil. Zeytinyağ: Olive oil. Artichoke: Enginar. This special dish is made with only the bottoms of artichokes when they are in season. Artichoke bottoms are stuffed with partly cooked potatoes, peas and carrots. Then they are braised in olive oil and flavored with lemon juice and fresh dill.

The dishes that are cooked in this way (with olive oil) are called zeytinyağlı in Turkish cuisine. This word both refers to olive oil and means meatless. So if a dish is described as zeytinyagli, it doesn't contain any meat.

These dishes are served either cold or at room temperature with a generous amount of olive oil. And zeytinyagli enginar is one of those tasty meatless dishes.

Want more zeytinyagli recipes? Have a look at our celeriac with quince recipe, as well as easy sunchoke recipe. You can also try this delicious spring olive oil dish fresh fava beans with pod.

If you happen to visit a local open market in Turkey during spring, you see large stands loaded with fresh artichokes. And you will be amazed to see how the vendors clean the skin and thick leaves of artichokes to get artichoke bottoms super fast.

When you don't have to do the cleaning part yourself, making this Turkish enginar recipe is the easiest thing.

For today’s recipe, we will start by discussing artichoke bottoms. From what they are, how to carve them yourself, and how they can be bought. We will then explain exactly how to make this easy recipe, and also give you some handy tips!

What Are Artichoke Bottoms?

An artichoke bottom refers to the fleshy base section of the vegetable between the stem and the leaves. The bottoms have a unique shape that is carved from this base.

To prepare and shape artichoke bottoms are relatively easy and only require a knife and possibly a melon baller.

Remove all the outer green leaves until you are left with the yellow cone on the inside. Using a sharp knife, cut away the core and stem of the artichoke– now you are left with the bottom.

To clean it up, simply carve away any dark green parts and remove the core using a melon baller or small teaspoon.

For a more in-depth explanation with pictures on how to prepare artichoke bottoms, you can have a look at this article.

About The Ingredients

This stuffed artichoke bottom recipe only requires a few simple ingredients that you most likely already have in your home.

Artichoke bottoms, peas, onion, fresh dill, lemon, carrot, potato and olive oil on a grey background.

As this recipe is a classic Turkish olive oil dish, the most important ingredient is olive oil. We prefer using only the best and purest forms that aren’t refined or processed.

Artichoke bottoms are the other hero ingredient in this dish that adds a very nutty, slightly sweet flavor profile. Once cooked, these flavors become less prominent and blend in well with the others.

For the stuffing, we chose to use simple yet flavorful ingredients like onions, peas, dill, and lemon juice. The potatoes and peas help add even more flavor, texture, and of course a bit of color. You can use shelled fresh fava beans too.

Instructions

These mouth-watering vegan stuffed artichoke bottoms are easy to make and takes less than an hour – especially if you’re using canned or frozen bottoms. The flavors merge together seamlessly and it is truly a healthy recipe the whole family will love!

Artichoke bottoms soaked in lemony water.

First, prepare the artichokes. If you are using canned artichokes you can skip this step, otherwise, cut your artichoke bottoms and place them in lemon water.

Onions, potatoes and carrots cooking in a pan and a wooden spoon inside it.

Second, prepare the stuffing. Heat the olive oil and sweat the onions until they’re translucent. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Cooking onions, carrots, potatoes and peas in a white pan and a wooden spoon inside it.

Add your peas and salt and allow them to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Cooking onions, potatoes, carrots, peas and fresh dill in a white pan.

Lastly, stir through the fresh dill and lemon juice.

Artichoke bottoms stuffed with peas, potatoes and carrots in a white pan.

Third, assemble and bake the artichoke bottoms. Place the bottoms into a pan and stuff them with the cooked vegetables. Pour hot water into the pan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook the artichokes until they become tender about 20 minutes.

Fourth, plate and serve. After the artichokes have cooked, transfer them to a plate and allow them to cool down completely. Drizzle the artichokes with some olive oil and garnish them with fresh dill.

Stuffed artichoke bottoms with potatoes, carrots and peas served on a white plate and another serving plate on the side.

Tips

  • An easy way to keep your frozen or fresh artichokes from turning brown is to place them in water with a few lemon slices. The acidity of lemons will help prevent them from discoloring, so you can also use limes or lemon juice.
  • When choosing a pan to cook the artichokes in, the best ones are sauté pans that have high sides. These can hold the water without it boiling over. Alternatively, you can use a pot that is large enough to hold all of the stuffed artichoke bottoms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you eat artichokes out of the jar?

Both jarred and canned artichokes are edible straight out of the jar, but they might not be appetizing. We prefer jarred artichokes because they're usually marinated in an olive oil and lemon dressing – these are extremely flavorful.
Canned artichoke bottoms are usually preserved in either brine (salted liquid) or vinegar. Although edible, they’re usually very soft and salty.

Why is my artichoke purple in the middle?

This purple part that you sometimes see inside an artichoke is the flower head. These usually appear in artichokes that have matured and are starting to flower. Although beautiful and tempting to prepare, these shouldn’t be eaten as their leaves are prickly and the fuzzy choke inside can cause you to choke. Discard these before cooking the edible parts or simply eat around them.

Can you buy frozen artichokes?

There are definitely frozen artichoke bottoms available, however, they can be difficult to find in some areas. They are also sometimes labeled as "artichoke cups" and can most likely be found in gourmet grocery stores or Middle Eastern stores.

What happens if you overcook an artichoke?

Like with many other vegetables, overcooking them will leave you with a mushy texture and even diluted flavor. To prevent this from happening, test the artichokes after 20 minutes. If they’re still not done, allow them to cook for another 2-3 minutes and test them again.

What does artichoke taste like?

Artichokes have a very earthy, nutty, and slightly bitter flavor to them. The heart of the artichoke has a soft texture while the petals are crunchier. You will also notice that the hearts are much more flavorful compared to the other parts. Once cooked, these flavors become less intense which is why it is important to not overcook them.

More Turkish Vegetable Dishes

  • Turkish Yaprak Sarma (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
  • Turkish Celeriac Recipe (Zeytinyagli Kereviz)
  • What Are Sunchokes And How To Cook Them
  • Imam Bayildi Recipe (Turkish Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant)

As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

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📖 Recipe

Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms (Zeytinyagli Enginar)

Artichoke bottoms stuffed with veggies like potatoes, peas and carrots garnished with fresh dill and lemon wedges on a white plate with blue stripes.
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Artichoke bottoms are stuffed with potatoes, carrots and peas. Served cold with a generous amount of lemon and olive oil.

  • Author: Zerrin & Yusuf
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 5 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Cooking
  • Cuisine: Turkish
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 artichoke bottoms
  • Half lemon (to soak the bottoms if they are fresh or frozen)
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium size carrot, diced
  • 1 medium size potato, diced
  • 1 cup peas (fresh or canned)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
  • ½ lemon, squeezed
  • ½ cup hot water

Instructions

  1. Fill a large bowl with water, squeeze half lemon in it and put the artichoke bottoms in it. This is for fresh or frozen artichoke bottoms to prevent them from getting brown. Skip this step if you are using canned artichokes. Rinse and drain well.
  2. Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook onions in this until translucent.

  3. Add in carrots and potatoes and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  4. Add in peas and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

  5. Add in fresh dill and lemon juice, give it a stir.

  6. Place the artichoke bottoms into this pan. Stuff them with the cooked veggies in the pan. You can keep any remaining veggies in the pan.

  7. Pour hot water in the pan and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook until artichokes get tender but not mushy, for about 20 min.

  8. Transfer onto a serving plate and let them completely cool down. 

  9. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh dill.

Notes

  • An easy way to keep your frozen or fresh artichokes from turning brown is to place them in water with a few lemon slices. The acidity of lemons will help prevent them from discoloring, so you can also use limes or lemon juice.
  • When choosing a pan to cook the artichokes in, the best ones are sauté pans that have high sides. These can hold the water without it boiling over. Alternatively, you can use a pot that is large enough to hold all of the stuffed artichoke bottoms.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 232
  • Sugar: 3.3 g
  • Sodium: 613.9 mg
  • Fat: 14.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 24.9 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: artichoke bottoms, artichoke bottoms recipe, Turkish artichoke recipe, stuffed artichoke bottoms

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Nancy says

    May 05, 2021 at 1:13 pm

    Ate this during a summer holiday in Turkey and loved it. So happy to find this recipe. Made it to serve with grilled chicken last night. So good!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Corina says

    May 08, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    I've never prepared artichoke myself either. This looks like a gorgeous mezze

    Reply
  3. Lisa says

    May 08, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    Right befire your tweet about this post popped up, I was discussing stuffed artichokes for dinner tonight and how I was craving them. Would love to try your version, it looks absolutely divine. Also, spectacular photos..just wow.

    Reply

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Zerrin & Yusuf

Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

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