Artichoke bottoms stuffed with meat.

Ingredients

Artichokes are making a timid entrance already with green grocers . The taste of the fresh bottoms is way superior. Artichoke bottoms are available frozen or in a jars in mainstream supermarkets.

Directions

1. To prepare the artichokes, trim off all but one-half-inch from the stem ends. Peel off the tough outer leaves and cut about one-half-inch from the tops. Part the leaves in the center and with a teaspoon scoop out the thistle_like choke and pink leaves. ( to prevent artichoke from darkness, drop them into a bowl of lemon water).
2. Heat the oil in  a skillet and fry the bottoms for a few minutes until golden.
3. To prepare the filling, in a skillet sauté the ground beef with vegetable oil, and the onions for 15 minutes, or until the onions is translucent. Add the pine nuts, salt , pepper, and the pomegranate molasses.
4. Stuff the artichokes with the meat mixture. Arrange them in an ovenproof casserole. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a simmer, add the corn starch, stir until the sauce thickens a bit.
5. Insert the dish in a 325f oven prior to serving by 20 minutes or so. Serve it warm with pilaf rice