Mediterranean Artichoke Stew

Submitted by DaphneM

"A zesty, hearty dish that is delicious both hot AND cold. Artichokes, lemon, and some spices make up the base of the flavor, and the addition of potatoes and garbanzo beans (chickpeas) add substance. Wonderful served with just a fresh green salad. I adapted this from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe from "World Vegetarian" ("Artichokes Stewed with Potatoes," labeled as Moroccan) by adjusting the spices a little bit and adding the chickpeas."

 

• Ready In: 27mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 3-4

ingredients

• 2 medium red potatoes
• 1 (9 ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts (I use Bird's Eye)
• 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas (or larger as desired)
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• salt and black pepper

directions

1. Peel and dice potatoes into 1" or so chunks. Put in a medium (3 quart or so) pot along with the frozen artichokes.
2. Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas and add to the pot. Halve the lemon and either squeeze it on a juicer, or pick out as many seeds as possible and squeeze directly into the pot. Add olive oil, spices, and water (you want it to just barely cover the solid ingredients).
3. Stir ingredients in pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer.
4. Cook for about 20 minutes, either covered or uncovered - if you want it to be soupier, cover the pot, but if you want a lot of the liquid to evaporate and be more like a stew, leave it uncovered. Stir occasionally. You can always cook it longer than 20 minutes if you like your potatoes very soft, and they will absorb more flavor the longer you cook. Really, it is hard to overcook this dish.

Reviews

[Sandy in California]

This is fantastic and quick and easy and has become a favorite in our house. For Trader Joes fans here is the super quick way I make this... Start with a bag of TJ frozen roasted red potatoes, add them to a pot with a T of heated oil, add spices per recipe and cook a few minutes, add 2 bags of TJ frozen artichokes, 2 cans of garbanzo beans, 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 32 oz of vegetable broth plus the lemon and let it cook for 30 min or so. Perfect and easy. Thank you so much for this great recipe!

 

[Megos Land]

After a few modifications I made to get rid of randoms this was pretty good (and healthy too!). I sauteed minced garlic and a bird's eye pepper in the oil (using far less than the full 1/4 cup) for a few minutes. I then added the potatoes, which I cut into 1/2" cubes, 3 of them, alos unpeeled. I used canned artichokes in brine (drained) and lemon juice (about 1tsp). I omitted the cayenne because birds eye peppers are waaaay spicier! I cooked my own garbanzo beans and probably added more than the single can worth. For the juice I used a can of crushed tomatoes and then added water to cover the mixture. It took a full hour to get the potatoes cooked and they were still al dente (can potatoes be al dente?!) though I used a cast iron pot. Needed a bit of salt despite what I thought would be enough contributed from the artichoke hearts. I have to admit, the buttermilk biscuits left over from Thanksgiving were a perfect compliment! Very good and very simple.

 

[Eat Your Vegetables]

I modified this slightly, but it turned out really well with a great mix of flavors. I sauteed 1 T of chopped garlic in the olive oil with about 1 t of crushed red pepper flakes. Then I added the chopped potatoes, canned quartered artichokes, chickpeas, lemon juice and vegetable broth (in place of plain water). I also did not peel the red potatoes first. Then I cooked the whole thing uncovered for about 30 minutes. Next time I might add some fresh parsley as well.

 

[Aram5262]

Amazing result for so little work! This one is going into my cold weather cooking rotation.