Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms

This recipe is from my Mother in Law. It is one of my favorites that she makes. It is simple, flavorful, and different from so many of the other recipes I have made using ground meat. I love this as an appetizer or even as a protein-filled side dish. The middle eastern flavors here make this dish something so special. I hope you try this one! 💕

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground meat

2-3 bags of frozen artichoke bottoms (not canned hearts)

2 onions, chopped

2-6 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 box Bella mushrooms, chopped

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp baharat

1 tbsp curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4-1/2 cup dry red wine

1 jar marinara sauce

(Optional) chopped parsley

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375.

Start by following the directions on the bag of#artichokes. Our bag said to boil them for 20 mins, but we let them boil until they were soft enough that you can stick a fork into them, ~30 mins.

While the artichokes boil, prepare your#meatstuffing. Add a little olive or avocado oil to a pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent. Then, add the crushed garlic and the spices. Mix and allow for the garlic to become fragrant and the spices to toast a little. This will take about 2 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft and have shrunken a little, about 3-5 mins. Remove from heat.

Remove your artichokes from the water and place them in a single layer in a deep baking dish.

In a bowl, mix the onion mixture with your raw meat, until well incorporated. Start shaping the mixture into balls, and then place them into the artichoke bottoms. Use any leftover meat to either make some#meatballsin the bottom of the dish, or to make a#meatloaf

Once all the bottoms are stuffed, pour the#wineover them. Only add more if you feel that there is not a small layer of wine at the bottom of the dish. Pour the#marinarasauce over, making sure that each artichoke has some sauce on top of it.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered.

I garnished with some chopped#parsleyleavesbut this is optional. Enjoy this delicious and unique dish!