About the Recipe
Ingredients
To boil, roast,stuff or braise is always the choice . This method will describe how to prepare for roasting, braising or pan gridlling, even BBQ ing. We recomended selected phyrical or what we refer to as processing artichokes as they are quicker and eaiseir to process and lend themthelves to this method of cookery (but you could use large round ones if you can not get eloganed varities). These tend to be of Italian decent but not exclusivly. Select artichokes where the spines are not open and have good weight to them (an idication of a good weighty heart) There is not recipe as such as an artickoke fanatic i think 3-4 per person if not more is fine and the only other thing you need is a good extra virgin olive oil one or two lemons and a bowl of cold water
Preparation
Have a lemon cut up into chunks ready to use and bowl with cold water with some the juice of one whole lemon added. Artickokes oxidate in a matter of mutues so will need to be rubbed with fresh lemon occasionaly durring the process
Strip away the tough outer leafs by pulling them in downward ditection untill you get to softer leafs. Remember to rub with a lemon wedge.
Using a Y peeler pair the stem down and arround the artichoke base to remove any other tough outer parts.
Now place on a board and cut off about one third of the leafy head. Now you will be able to see the choke the fluffy internal imature flower head. This is inedbal and can removed using a teaspoon in a scooping motion until you end up with something like this. Some artichokes may not have developed a choke yet so you dont have to do anything.
Once you have prepared your artickoke pop into your acidulated water and use a seive or something to keep them submerged until they are ready to be used. Once you have prepared your desired amount drain and roll in olive oil a little salt and pepper and oven roast at 180c for about 20-minutes or griddle on medium hob until cooked turning regulally.
Now you have cooked artichokes ready to use as you want one pizza, is pasta or salads or part of an anti pasti selection. In terms of the boil or roast debate i am fan of roasting /griddling.
