Artichokes----stuffed

Artichokes, I love them and have them often, I love the small ones, that I grill and also sauté them with olives, red pepper etc.  Here are my stuffed Artichokes, this is my Dad's recipe, amounts are kind of funny because he never really measured anything.

Got some really beautiful ones, test them, they should be firm, a little expensive but that is the way it is this time of the year, but well worth it.

So for the recipe:

8 large artichokes ( you can use less or more)
1 tin flat anchovies, remove the anchovies and mince them, SAVE the oil that is in the tin
Parsley, about a handful
breadcrumbs, I used 1 can
grated parmigiano or romano cheese, whichever you prefer, I use parmigiano
olive oil to drizzle on the top
freshly grated black pepper to taste, I don't use salt because of the anchovies and the cheese
Sopressata, this is an Italian dried salami, I use about a cup of sopressata cut into small cubes, more if you wish
Mix the above ingredients together 
4 cloves of garlic
3 bay leaves

Peel off some of the outer leaves and cut the stem off the bottom (save the stem), cut a little 
off the top.  Then spread the artichokes and fill them with the stuffing.

Put them into a heavy bottom pan, and once filled, add water to go halfway up the artichokes, put the garlic cloves  into the bottom of the pan along with the bay leaves.

Once that is done, drizzle the oil from the anchovies, and then a little extra virgin olive oil over the tops of the artichokes, put the cover onto the pan and bring to a boil, once to a boil, bring to a simmer and the artichokes are done when a knife inserted in the artichoke goes in smooth, about 40 min.  Do check to make sure the water does not evaporate, if you need to add more water, make sure that it is boiling.

And here they are, bet you can't eat ONE!!!!  Let me know how you make out...