Original name: Enginar Dolmasi
Origin: Turkey
Ingredients
4-5 artichokes, mid size
1 cup rice, a round and small sort
2 onions, fresh
1 cup dill, stem removed, chopped
Optional, some fresh mint leaves, stem removed, chopped
½ cup olive oil
1 tbsp pepper paste (if not available, substitute with tomato paste)
2 lemons
2 limes
a pinch of sugar
boiling water
1-2 teaspoons of black pepper, according to taste
1-2 teaspoons of salt, according to taste
Preparation
Prepare the filling:
Roast onions until brown with olive oil and sugar in the pan in high to mid heat, add the rice. Leave it to cool down for five minutes and then add the herbs (dill etc.). After it cools down, add more olive oil and more lemon juice to taste.
Prepare the artichokes:
Remove the stem, carve the mid part till you removed all the hair like parts and remove some of the outer leaves which look too hard. Pour lemon juice on them and throw them in lemon juice water till cooking. Be very generous with the lemon juice, otherwise they go dark. The white centers of the stems can be also cooked in the same pot.
This video shows very well how to clean them up.
Finalize:
Fill the artichokes with the filling and place vertically in the pot. Add boiling water to cover half of the them. Put a plate and a bowl filled with water on the plate. This is not a must, but they keep their shape better this way. Cook till the rice is completely tender in around 15 min., you don’t want to overcook till the artichokes get very soft.
Enjoy!