Trim the artichoke stems close to
the base and brush the leaves with lemon juice.
Fit a microwavable 21/2
quart roasting pan with a rack, set the artichokes on the rack and
add the water.
Cover the pan with heavy duty
transparent wrap and microwave on high 100% for 6-7 minutes, or
until the artichokes are just tender, rotating the pan a half turn
halfway through the cooking time.
Set the artichokes aside.
Put the scallions, celery, garlic,
and butter in a microwavable 1 quart casserole and microwave on high
100% for 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, stirring
halfway through the cooking time.
Add the thawed spinach,
breadcrumbs, parsley and pepper to the casserole and stir the
vegetables.
Spread the center leaves of each
artichoke to form a well.
If you like, you can remove some
of the center leaves and scrape out the choke, to make room for more
stuffing.
Stuff the artichokes with the
spinach mixture.
Arrange the artichokes again in
the roasting pan and cover with heavy duty transparent wrap.
Microwave on high 100% for 6-7
minutes, until the stuffing is hot, the base of each artichoke is
tender and the leaves can be removed with a slight tug.
Rotate the pan a half turn during
the cooking time.
Sprinkle the cheese evenly over
the artichokes and recover the pan with transparent wrap.
Microwave on high 100% for 1-2
minutes, until the cheese melts.
Rotate the pan a half turn during
the cooking time.
Serve at once.
Serves 4
Note :
Give artichokes extra pizza with a spinach
stuffing flavored with scallions and garlic, and add a topping of melted
cheese.
Cooking Tip :
Never hesitate to open the microwave oven
door during cooking time to test food for doneness - especially
important when cooking vegetables that should be crisp tender and not
overcooked.
