Fresh Artichokes with Shrimp Stuffing

I was just Skype type-chatting with my sweet husband, who is in Houston.  I said, “Where are you sleeping?” because he is there on business and, even in Houston, that usually means some hotel or another because of meetings first thing in the morning at said hotel.  His response, “I slept in our bed last night,” made tears jump into my eyes.  He was in our home in Houston.  And suddenly I was more homesick than I can express.  And then he told me he spent two hours last night visiting with my mother and he’ll spend tonight with his mom.   Oh, man.

Do you ever have moments like that?  Where you just WANT TO GO HOME?  You know, it doesn’t matter that where I live IS home and I wouldn’t want it any other way, but sometimes it just comes over me that I want to go home, home. 

 The most vivid memory of when this happened to me was when I was pregnant with younger daughter.  We had a beautiful house just outside of Paris and Spring was springing (She was due in July.) and all should have been well with my world.  But all I could think about was going home.  With a capital H.  I wanted my mother and my sisters and family and Houston.  At that point, we didn’t have a house in Houston to call our own.  It was definitely the people.  I think it still is.

I tried to express my feelings back then, and choked up.  Tears welled in my eyes.  I figured it was hormones but there was no denying the desire for my mom and Houston.  My dear husband, bless him, said, “Go.”  I booked the tickets for me and elder daughter, then two years old, faster than you can blink.  I don’t even remember how long we stayed, 1 week, 10 days, two weeks?  But it was enough.  I returned to Paris, sated.  Ready for the rest of my pregnancy and delightedly waiting for our new little one.  I also rested comfortably in the knowledge that my mother was coming out to visit two weeks after the baby was expected.  An impending visit always helps.

Meanwhile, I have been cooking up a storm in preparation for my trip to visit our daughters during their university spring break.  I can’t leave dear husband without meals!  So far, I have in the freezer: 

Tomato borlotti beans with smoked pork chop/rice – 2

Linguine with Bolognaise Sauce– 2

Salmon with spicy couscous – 3

Spicy Thai Pork Meatballs with egg noodles – 2

 Penne with shrimp and blue cheese - 3

Eggplant Parmigiana – 2

Greens and Pea Manicotti – 2

Lasagna – 3

Shrimp curry with rice - 3

Artichokes with shrimp stuffing – 3 (not a full dinner each since they are small but tasty)

I have had so many things on the stove or the cutting board at once that I didn’t even attempt to record the process, except for the last item.  Artichokes are in season here and I cannot resist.  We are talking LE1.25 the last time I was in Carrefour which is about 20 US cents per artichoke!  They are practically paying me to take them home, people!  

So, shrimp stuffed artichokes.  Hold on to your butter dish!  These are tasty!

Ingredients

4 fresh artichokes

2 3/4 oz or 80g butter

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion

16 large shrimp, peeled and cleaned

5 slices of sandwich bread

3 1/2 oz or 100g feta cheese

Small handful flat leaf parsley

1 lemon

Olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Cayenne (optional)

1 egg

Method

Cut the stem and the top couple of inches off of the artichoke.  Rub the cut ends with half of the lemon to keep them from turning brown.

Trim the pointy ends of the lower leaves with a pair of scissors and rub with the lemon.

Steam the artichokes, stem end up for about 30 minutes or until fork tender.

Meanwhile, chop your onion and garlic and then sauté them in half the butter with a generous drizzle of olive oil to keep the butter from burning.

When the artichokes are done, remove them the heat and leave them to cool slightly.  When they have cooled enough to handle, gently separate the leaves and use a small spoon to scoop out the fuzzy, inedible choke.  

Chop your shrimp into small pieces.   Salt and pepper liberally.  Add some cayenne if you like things spicy. 

As your onions and garlic get soft, slice your bread into small cubes.  Add in the other half of the butter to the pan.

Chop your parsley, separating the stems from the leaves.   Add the chopped stems to the onions and garlic.  Give the pan a quick stir and then tip in the chopped shrimp.

Cook for just four to five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in the cubed bread and use two wooden spoons to gently toss the bread in the olive oil, garlic and butter.

Put the mixture into a mixing bowl so it can cool slightly and preheat your oven to 350F° or 180°C.

Meanwhile, use a fork to crumble your feta. (This feta came from my new Bible study friend, Natalia’s husband’s company.  They make all kinds of wonderful cheeses including Brie, Camembert and a lovely goat cheese, all of which we love.  If you live nearby and want to order, check out their website http://specialtycheeses.com/  It’s a family run business owned by lovely people who make great cheese.)  

Add the feta into the mixing bowl.  Add in the egg and cayenne, if using.

Juice your remaining lemon half and add about half of the juice to the stuffing.  Add in the chopped parsley leaves and give the whole thing a good stir.

Using a spoon, fill the artichokes.   Put them into a baking pan and liberally drizzle all the artichokes with olive oil.  Make sure to get some in the outer leaves as well as over the stuffing.

Bake for 30 minutes or until lovely and golden.  Drizzle the remaining lemon juice into the outer leaves. 

This is delicious AND fun to eat.

Enjoy!

Charred Marinated Fresh Artichokes

Fresh artichokes, charred in a frying pan then marinated with garlic, lemon, thyme and oregano make a wonderful addition to any dish or salad. 

Reflections on the move to Egypt
So, I am sitting here and it’s dark and I think it must be very late since the afternoon/evening has been long and dear husband is traveling and it’s just the hound and I.  But it’s just 7:25.  I look around at the empty room and I think I should feel lonely (and I do, a little) but I have a comfy chair and a warm home and I went out to eat with a couple of new friends today and I was introduced to a huge mall with a Marks and Spencers and a Spinneys grocery store.  The biggest Spinneys I have ever seen!  And I bought some new tights in Marky’s.  So, all in all, today has been a good day. 

And thinking back to Abu Dhabi

My very first Spinneys was a small affair in Abu Dhabi.  Way back when (1987) our Spinneys kept the same hours as the general working public.  9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 - 7 p.m., so, if you worked, you really couldn’t shop there.  Simon and the hound (three Boxers back) moved there alone while I waited in Houston for my visa. They wanted my birth certificate, our marriage certificate, copies of passports, copies of my university degree, two leaps through a burning hoop and, finally, I had to prove that I could pirouette on toe shoes. Needless to say, the visa took a while. (Damn those toe shoes; my feet have never been the same.) The dog, on the other hand, needed a health certificate and he was IN. They moved directly into a company villa, vacated by the previous family, who had kindly left all the edible food in the cupboards.  For the first few days, the dog was fed on chocolate cake because Simon couldn’t seem to find a store that was open when he was off. And that was my introduction to Spinneys.  (You fed my dog what?!)

Meanwhile, here in my neck of Cairo, another of my blessings is a grocery store mere walking minutes from our home.  You can’t really plan a meal ahead because you never know if they will have what you were counting on, but sometimes gifts are dropped in your lap.  Yesterday, it was fresh artichokes. We love them but every place else we have lived, when you can find them, they are not cheap.  Here they are about 50 cents each in US money. I call that cheap.

So I took them home and decided to marinate them myself. 

Ingredients

Lemon juice – fresh or bottled

5 fresh artichokes

5 cloves garlic

Olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 lemon – for fresh juice

Sea salt

Black pepper

Method

Fill a bowl with cold water and a few good squeezes of bottled or fresh lemon juice. This will be used for dipping your artichokes while you clean them and also to pop them in once the cleaning is done.  The lemon juice is supposed to help keep them from turning brown.

Clean your artichokes by trimming the end of the stem and cutting off the top inch and a half (about 3cm) of the leaves.

Rip the outside hard leaves off until you get to the tender inside leaves.  Try nibbling on a few to see how tender they are. 

The tender leaves are pretty tasty.

Once you get to the tender ones, trim the top again if you need to.  Peel the stem and the outside of the bottom.  Dip the artichoke in the lemon water.  

Cut the artichoke in half.

Using a spoon, place it at the top of the fuzzy bit (the choke) and use a twisting motion to remove all the fuzz.  Scrape the area clean with your spoon. 

Pop the artichoke in the lemon water.

Continue until all the artichokes are cleaned.  Change the water and add more lemon juice. 

Heat a non-stick skillet until roasting hot.  Lift the artichokes out a few at a time and give them a good shake over the sink to dry them as best you can.  Put them directly into the scorching skillet. 

Let them brown, checking  every few minutes by turning them over with tongs to peek.  When they are starting to brown, drizzle them with olive oil.

Meanwhile, slice your garlic very thinly.

When the artichokes are well browned, turn them over and do the same to the other side.

Once both sides are well colored, add in about a half a cup of water and put the lid on.  Cook until the water runs out and check for tenderness with a fork.  Add more water and put the lid back on until both sides are fork tender.

Turn the heat down to medium and season with salt and pepper.  Add a goodly amount of olive oil.  The artichokes don’t have to be knee deep but they should be at least ankle deep, so to speak. 

Add in the sliced garlic.  Let it cook until softened.  Add in the thyme and oregano.  Cook a minute or two more and then squeeze in the juice of your one lemon.  Turn the heat off. 

Allow to cool and then preserve in a sterilized jar or Ziploc bag.  Top with a little more olive oil to cover.  If you are using a bag, you can add some more olive oil but also try to get all the air out.  

Marinate for several days before eating.  (Actually you could probably eat them right now but I think the flavors will develop more with at least a couple of days of marinating.)  

Enjoy!

UPDATE: We ate half of the artichokes last night as part of a tomato with fresh mozzarella salad and they were DIVINE!  After sprinkling the sliced tomato with a little sea salt,  I drizzled a bit of the marinade on the cheese and then used some more as the dressing on the baby leaf greens.