• 12 small purple artichokes
• ½ cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 3 garlic cloves, 1 crushed and 2 left whole and unpeeled
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 bay leaf

Trim the artichokes of their tough outer leaves and tips and cut off the stems. Press each one upside down so that the leaves are forced apart. Combine the parsley, thyme, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper and stuff the mixture between the leaves of each artichoke.

Place the artichokes in the olive oil in a cast-iron frying pan or Doufeu. Scatter the onions around the artichokes in the pan with the 2 unpeeled garlic cloves. Heat slowly over a low flame for 5 minutes. Add about 1 inch of warm water and a bay leaf and simmer, covered, for 1½ hours.