North Cyprus Cousine - Main Dishes

Zeytinyagli Enginar (Stuffed Artichokes In Olive Oil)

The head of the plant stuffed with meat and rice is one of the mediterranean cuisine which is also very common in North Cyprus.

Ingredients

8 medium artichokes
1 tablespoon flour
1 lemon (juice)
4 glasses of water
1 teaspoon salt
1 large tomato

For the filling

1 glass olive oil
6 medium onions
1 tablespoon pistachio nuts
(suitable for stuffing)
1/2 glass rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 glasses of water
1/2 bunch parsley
1/2 bunch dill
1/2 bunch mint

Preparation

Cut off the stalk and the leaves of of the artichokes. Slice the tomatoes in circles. Put flour, lemon juice and salt into a pan and bring to the boil, place the artichokes im boiling water and blach for 5 minutes. Remove from water and line up on a tray. Pout the boiling water into a bowl and put aside.

For the filling

Let the rice stand in a warm water for half an hour. Wash well and drain. Slice the onions thinly. Chop the parsley, dill and mint. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, put the onions and pistachio nuts in, stir frequently until the onions are sauteed and pistachio nuts turn golden. Add the rice, salt, allspice and black pepper and saute for 5 minutes while stirring. Add water and cook until the rice absorbs the water. Remove the pan from heat, add parsley, dill and mint, mix them all together.

Stuff the artichokes with the prepared filling, pour the artichoke water over. Place tomato slices in between the artichokes. Put the tray on the oven and cook for 20 minutes at high temperature. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. After cooling, place in the refrigerator and leave to stad there for a few hours. After this, the dish will be ready to serve.

References
Albrecht, M. (1994), Turkish Cypriot and Mediterranean Cookery, Havellia Publishing, London.
Salaman, R., (1991), The Cooking of Greece and Turkey, Sainsbury Cookbooks, London.