Sunday Startup Artichokes Recipe

3 oz pancetta or bacon, — finely
: chopped
2 c mushrooms trimmed and finely
: chopped
1 garlic, — minced
2 TB each chopped parsley and
: basil
4 TB fresh bread crumbs
: Salt and freshly ground
: black pepper
2 TB vegetable oil
1 onion, — finely sliced
2 carrots, — sliced
4 raw artichokes, — trimmed
: and choke removed
1/2 c dry white wine

In a casserole (large enough to hold artichokes in a single layer)
render the pancetta until crisp. Add the mushrooms and saute for a
couple of minutes. Cover and cook until tender. Add the garlic and
herbs and saute for a minute. Add the bread crumbs and season to
taste with salt and pepper. Remove the stuffing from the casserole
and set aside. Add vegetable oil the casserole

and saute the onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Stuff the raw
artichokes with the mushroom mixture and set them over the
vegetables. Add the white wine, and bring it to a boil. Cover the
casserole and simmer over very low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until
tender. Remove artichokes from heat and reduce the liquid over high
heat until concentrated; season to taste with salt and pepper and
spoon over artichokes.

An alternative way of doing this is to use precooked artichokes and
simmer them, stuffed, for 30 minutes to heat and cook the stuffing.

Yield: 4 servings