Raw Artichoke Salad

Insalata de carciofi is one of my favourite ways to serve artichokes – simply thinly sliced with a tangy lemon dressing and a little salty cheese. Celery heart adds crunch to this raw artichoke salad and a few baby rocket leaves give colour. But don’t use too much, let the artichoke be the star, and only use the palest inner stalks of celery and the smallest rocket leaves you can find. Artichokes are notoriously tricky to match with wine, as they contain a compound called cynarin that makes most other things taste slightly sweet. It seems a very dry wine, one with even a slightly bitter citrus-peel edge, is a good match. di Lusso vermentino from Mudgee works a treat. This raw artichoke salad is also great as a side dish and can easily be doubled or tripled. When artichokes are out of season, or you just need a quick fix, make this simple artichoke and white bean dip using good preserved artichoke pieces.

Serves 2 as a starter

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (40ml)
1 tablespoon strained lemon juice (20ml)
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 globe artichokes
½ lemon
2 stalks celery heart, finely sliced
Small handful baby rocket leaves
50g Pecorino Romano, finely shaved (1¾oz)

Method

Combine oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Working one at a time, trim the artichokes and remove the outer leaves to get to the pale green heart; see video below and my step-by step guide for preparing artichokes here (as you’re only preparing 2 artichokes, you don’t need to put them in water, just rub all cut surfaces well with lemon).
Once you’ve removed the hairy choke from the centre, finely slice the artichokes, cutting the sliced base into strips, and immediately toss through the lemon dressing.
Toss through the celery heart, then the rocket, then most of the Pecorino.
Arrange raw artichoke salad on a platter, draining off any excess dressing, and top with remaining Pecorino.