Bourbon Braised Artichokes Stuffed w/ Creamed Spinach
Bourbon Braised Artichokes
INGREDIENTS:
Creamed Spinach
Spinach. 16 oz
Yellow Onions 1/2 Onion
Garlic 2 Cloves
Red Chili Flakes Pinch ( Adjust to likings)
Thyme Leaves From 1 Sprig (Minced)
Vegetable Stock 2 oz
Heavy Cream 2 oz
Lemon Zest 1 tsp
Parmasean 6 oz
Salt TT
Artichokes
4 Trimmed and Cleaned Medium to Large Artichokes
Bourbon Braising Liquid
Yellow Onions 1/2 Onion
Garlic 2 Cloves
Red Chili Flakes Pinch ( again adjust to likings)
Smoked Paprika 1 Tbsp
Rosemary 2 Sprigs
Thyme 1 Sprig
Bourbon 1 oz
Vegetable Stock 24 oz
Lemon Juice TT
Salt TT
Special Prep.
Beet Jus
Smoked Almond & Chili Dust
Soy Cured Egg Yolk
METHOD:
Creamed Spinach.
Heat sauté pan over medium heat, sweat down onions, garlic, and thyme. Season with chili flakes and continue to cook until aromatic and onions are translucent. Add in spinach and cook until spinach begans to wilt. At this point, it will have loss nearly half of its volume. Season and deglaze with vegetable stock, cook until au sec. Add heavy cream and reduce heat to low. Add freshly grated Parmesan while tossing spinach, creating a creamy mixture. Remove from heat completely then proceed to microplane in lemon zest, toss.
Artichokes.
Before beginning artichoke prep, preheat oven to 350 F.
Fill a large bowl with ice water and place paper towel over layer of water. Using serrated knife remove bottom steam on the artichoke to create a flat base. Using a peeler, peel away remaining green from bottom of artichoke. With your serrated knife, carefully cut 3/4 inch down body of artichoke. Using sheers, remove any sharp thorns left on tips of leaves. Rub inside flesh with half of lemon to help prevent artichokes from browning. Under running water, scoop out purple inner leaves making sure to grab out all of the white choke. Add artichoke to ice water and cover with paper towel to prevent from floating. Repeat initial steps with the remaining artichokes until all have been cleaned.
Stuff the Artichokes.
At this point, began to fill the inside of the artichoke with creamed spinach mixture carefully working your way outside to the outer leaves.
The Braise.
Heat a non-stick oven safe pan over medium high heat. Sweat down onions, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Season with smoked paprika and red chili flakes. Deglaze with bourbon followed by vegetable stock, allow to simmer over low heat until slightly reduced. Place artichokes in pan covered in aluminum foil then finish in the oven, 45 minutes or until leaves are tender.
Once tender, remove artichokes from oven along with foil. Allow to sit uncovered for a few minutes allowing artichokes to further soak in the braising liquid. Using a spatula, carefully remove artichokes from braising liquid, finish with maldon salt, parmesan, soy cured egg yolk, and smoke almond & chili dust. Drizzle with Beet Jus, serve immediately.
