Artichoke Potato Au Gratin

Bend back outer petals of artichokes until they snap off easily near base. Edible portion of petals should remain on artichoke hearts. Continue to snap off and discard petals until central core of pale green petals is reached. Cut off stems and top third of artichokes; discard. Trim outer dark green layer from bottoms. Quarter artichokes lengthwise. Cut out center petals and fuzzy centers. Vertically slice each quarter into 3-4 wedges. Dip slices in mixture of water and lemon juice.

Preheat oven to 425. Thinly slice unpeeled potatoes. Place layer of potato slices on bottom of greased 2-½-qt baking dish. Arrange layer of artichoke slices on potato slices. Sprinkle with spices and drizzle with part of olive oil.

Repeat layers, ending with potato layer, until all ingredients are used. Pour hot chicken broth evenly over surface; sprinkle with bread crumbs and drizzle with remaining oil. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.

Remove foil and bake 30-45 minutes longer, until potatoes and artichokes are tender.

Sylvia's comments: this was an interesting way to prepare artichokes for a casserole! I cut them into very thin wedges to make more. I used a very large baking pan, and the stack was so short that way I think I'd have been better off using an 8x8" pan. It was surprisingly tasty for something with very simple ingredients.

Nutritional information per serving: 259 calories; 6.2 gm protein; 46.4 gm carbohydrate; 5.7 gm fat (1 gm sat, 3.9 gm mono, 0.8 gm poly); 19% calories as fat; 1.8 gm fiber; 1.25 mg cholesterol; 322 mg sodium, 3 mg iron.

Luscious echoes

Your Artichoke Potato Au Gratin is ready. Good luck!