Turkish Artichoke Bottoms Recipe With Veggies

Name: Turkish Artichoke Bottoms
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 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

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These stuffed artichoke bottoms are not only vegan but packed with nutrients and most importantly, flavor! What's even better is that they are extremely easy and quick to make! This meatless dish makes the perfect accompaniment to any meal, but can also be served as a main.

This artichoke bottom recipe is another delicious Turkish olive oil dish, always served cold. For more recipes like this, you can have a look at our celeriac with quince recipe, as well as citrus flavored sunchoke recipe. You can also try this delicious spring olive oil dish fresh fava beans with pod.

Artichoked bottoms stuffed with cooked peas, potatoes and carrots garnished with lemon wedges and fresh dill on a white plate with blue stripes. — Turkish Vegan Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms

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!

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What Are Artichoke Bottoms?
Ingredients
Instructions
Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.

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

Ingredients

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

This is another classic Turkish olive oil dish, meaning the most important ingredient is arguably the olive oil. We prefer using only the best and purest forms that aren’t refined or processed.

Artichoke is 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.

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