Artichokes Stuffed With Herbed Cream Cheese And Bay Shrimp

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 artichokes
• 2 lemons, cut in half
• 4 ounces cooked bay shrimp
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade (good quality)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup minced celery leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced tarragon
• 2 teaspoons minced basil
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon celery salt

Recipe

• 1 for the herbed cream cheese, beat the cream cheese with a mixer at medium speed until soft.
• 2 add the mayonnaise, parmesan, shallot, celery leaves, lemon juice, tarragon, basil, worcestershire sauce, and celery salt.
• 3 continue blending until the mixture is smooth and evenly mixed; refrigerate until ready to serve.
• 4 cut the top inch from the artichokes and use kitchen shears to cut off the sharp tips from the leaves.
• 5 cut off the stem where it meets the bottom of the artichoke and score an x on the bottom of each artichoke.
• 6 rub all cut surfaces with one of the lemon halves.
• 7 put the artichokes in a large pot of cold water and squeeze in the juice from the remaining 3 lemon halves, dropping the lemons in as well.
• 8 set a heatproof plate on top of the artichokes to keep them thoroughly submerged in the water.
• 9 bring the water just to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium and simmer until the bottoms of the artichokes are tender and the outer leaves pull off easily, about 30 minutes.
• 10 drain the artichokes and set them upside down on paper towels to drain and cool.
• 11 when the artichokes are cool, lift out the small center leaves and scoop out the fuzzy choke with a small spoon, being careful to leave the tender artichoke bottom intact.
• 12 spoon the herbed cream cheese into the artichokes, smoothing the top.
• 13 top each artichoke with some of the shrimp and serve right away.