← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 4 large artichokes with long stems
• 1 Lemon
• 1 bunch small bunch of mint (or Roman mentuccia), leaves chopped
• 1 handful Parsley, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 120 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 250 ml Water
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Squeeze the lemon into a bowl of cold water and drop in the squeezed halves. Snap off the dark outer leaves of each artichoke until you reach the tender pale ones, cut off the spiky top and peel the stem, leaving about 6 cm attached. Rub the cut surfaces with lemon and keep them in the water.
2. Mix the mint, parsley, garlic, a good pinch of salt, pepper and 2 tbsp of the oil.
3. Gently open the leaves of each artichoke with your thumbs, scoop out any fuzzy choke with a teaspoon and push the herb mix into the centre and between the leaves.
4. Stand the artichokes upside down, stems pointing up, in a pan just big enough to hold them snugly. Pour in the rest of the oil and the water; it should come about a third of the way up.
5. Cover with a damp sheet of baking paper and the lid and simmer gently for 30–35 min, until a knife slides easily into the base. Uncover for the last few minutes if there is a lot of liquid left.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature with the herby cooking juices spooned over.

Tips

• Wear gloves or rub your hands with lemon: artichokes stain fingers dark.
• They keep for 2 days in the fridge and taste great on bruschetta.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano Pasta Grammar