Sausage Stuffed Artichokes

Little Green Gems

I know, I know, it's Friday, fish day but the fish ain't a biting folks. Well, maybe a few speckled trout near the mouth of the bay, but that's too close to the oil for me. Now if you still got a hankering - you can get your fill from some of my previous posts. Just look over at the sidebar and go fishing.

Now for a real treat, it's going to be an Italian Friday. An appetizer to get the weekend rolling. I dunno why, just because I'm in the mood and maybe because I spotted some small ones at the market ... on sale. I'm still stuffing things around in the kitchen and this is what I dug out of the box for today. Just pure good if you ask me. Enjoy!

Sausage Stuffed Artichokes

 

12 small artichokes
2 sourdough rolls, torn into bits
1 cup milk
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 rib of celery, finely diced
2 ounces cooked minced ham, about 1/4 cup
5 ounce Italian sweet sausages, casings removed, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh mint
1 egg
salt and pepper
olive oil as needed
2 ounce Fontina cheese

Peel the artichokes down to the hearts.

Make the filling by mixing in a bowl the bread softened in the milk along with the onion, garlic, celery, ham, the crumbled sausage, parmesan cheese, thyme, mint, egg, salt and pepper.

Boil the whole artichoke hearts briefly in hot water, then drain and dry. Press an indentation in each center, fill the depression with the filling and  drizzle with olive oil. Cover each with the grated Fontina cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F (200° C ) for 30 minutes.