Cooking with fresh artichokes takes a bit of time but is well worth it. Especially if you’re making a classic Italian recipe like this one.  Involtini in Italian is to Braciole in the United States; anything that is thinly sliced, rolled and stuffed with a myriad of fillings .  It could be beef like in this recipe, a flaky fish like sole, smoked fish, chicken, or even eggplant or zucchini. A classic beef involtini with a marinara sauce is of my favorite recipes that I learned to make while in Italy, so when I found this recipe recently in Food & Wine magazine that is very similar, but braised in a white wine sauce with fresh artichokes as an accompaniment, it was hard to resist.

You start with filling thinly sliced pieces of beef with fresh mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes and parsley.  Then you roll them up, season them, and sear them in a touch of olive oil.  Next you cook the artichoke hearts, garlic and crushed red pepper in the same pan; add in white wine and braise away.  Everything is returned to the pot so that the flavors come together and you finished off this amazing dish with a sprinkling of parsley and pine nuts, oh, and a glass of that white wine to drink with this amazing meal.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/beef-involtini-with-artichokes)

Tagged: artichoke hearts, artichokes, basil, beef, beef rolls, braised artichokes, cherry tomatoes, Food & Wine, Food & Wine magazine, fresh mozzarella, fresh parsley, involtini, Italian, mozzarella cheese, pine nuts, stuffed beef, sun dried tomatoes, white wine