Artichokes with garlic, parmesan and lemon

a recipe from our dear friend Tommy Tang

Not everyone knows how prepare artichokes or even eat artichokes but once you learn you will thoroughly enjoy these prickly little flowers.

Season:

First it is really important to eat this vegetable in season, which for the northern hemisphere is NOW!  If out of season they will be ‘woody’ and tough.

Ingredients:

Artichokes: As many artichokes as per persons.  If they are large generally one per person will suffice for a starter, otherwise I’d go for a few extra as people will want more and they are also great cold.

Garlic:  2-3 cloves per artichoke.

Parmesan Cheese:  You will need enough Parmesan to place 4-6 small pieces in each flower.

Lemons: Enough to dribble 1/2 teaspoon on each.

Olive Oil/ Sea Salt/ Ground Black Pepper: As necessary to your taste.

Preparation:

Some people cut the tips off of the leaves for aesthetics but we prefer to leave them.

1.         Slice about 1.5cms off the top of the flower so it had a flat top and you can get in between the leaves.

2.         Pull off any smaller leaves near the stem of the artichoke and cut the stem flat to the base.  Some people like to use and eat the stem but for this recipe

we cut it off so they can sit in the tray.

3.         Rinse each artichoke and dry with paper towel.

4.         Prepare the oven by heating to 375 degrees F.

5.         Grease a baking tray with olive oil and place all of the artichokes face up.

6.         ‘Stuff’ each artichoke with 2-3 cloves of garlic, 4-6 pieces of Parmesan, season with salt and pepper and squeeze the lemon over each and drizzle with olive oil.

7.         Place in the oven for approximately 50 minutes until brown.

Eating:

Serve each flower on an individual dish and drizzle the juice from the bottom of the tray on each.  Sprinkle a little sea salt on top.

Start at the bottom of the flower and pull each leaf off.  The outer leaves will be tougher and as you work through they will get more tender.

Eat each leaf from the tip to the base.

Work your way through the entire vegetable until you reach the centre and you will find the most delicious part.  Dress with extra juice from the pan and enjoy!