No. 527 — Whole Artichokes Stuffed with Champignons and Madeira
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 527 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Clean whole artichokes as described in the general note, but do not trim the leaf tips. Rub the bottoms with lemon juice.
The historical method lowers the artichokes, bottoms facing upward, into very hot deep-frying fat for two or three minutes, immersing only their leaf tips. Once the ends brown, drain on a sieve covered with absorbent paper, again with bottoms upward.
For the stuffing, clean and finely chop eight to twelve raw champignons. Fry lightly in butter with finely chopped onion and fresh parsley, add a little sifted crushed rusk to bind, and season with salt and pepper. Stuff both the centers and spaces between the leaves.
Tie each artichoke with kitchen string. Line a deep sauté pan with very thin slices of raw bacon and arrange the artichokes over them. Place another small slice of bacon over each; the bacon may instead be replaced with butter.
Barely cover with two glasses of strained ordinary broth, or preferably the meat essence No. 396. Add one or two small glasses of Madeira and lemon juice. Cover and cook gently on the stove or in the oven until tender.
Remove the strings, transfer to a dish and pour over the strained cooking liquid.
To provide
15 artichokes 1 lemon in all 1 spoonful of butter ¼ Russian pound of bacon fat or butter 6–12 champignons, as listed ½ onion | Fresh parsley ½ spoonful of butter 2–3 rusks Salt and pepper 1–2 small glasses of Madeira 2 glasses of broth essence No. 396 |