An in season eatable flower, here in Tuscany the fastest and simplest way to cook them is the following:
The artichoke slices are cooked together with a whole pancetta slice, which is then divided into a few chunks and served with the artichokes. You can leave out the pancetta if you like and add any other fresh herbs.
Ingredients – serves 6
9 medium-sized artihokes (in Tuscany the quality is Violetti)
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 slice of unsmoked pancetta (belly bacon) about 1 cm (1.1/2 in) thick
250 ml vegetable stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
Prepare a bowl of cold water with the juice of half a lemon. Trim the artichokes of their tough outer leaves. Those you leave are the ones you will eat so make sure they are not tough. Chop off about a third of the top spear. Cut off the stem, leaving about three cm (1-1/4 in) and trim down towards the end into a pyramid point, trimming away the dark outer green stem. Cut them in half vertically and scrape out the choke. Slice each half into six pieces. Drop into the lemon water to prevent them from discolouring while you prepare the rest. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the artichokes, garlic and the piece of pancetta. Sautè for about 5 minutes until lightly golden and season with salt and pepper. Add about 250 ml of vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes more until the artichokes have softened. Add a few more drops of liquid if necessary to keep them moist. Stir in the parsley.
Picture taken from Flickr-thanks to Tati http://u.nu/9xr5
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