Serves 2
Ingredients
- A good squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 to 2 artichokes per person
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mayonnaise
- 2 firm fresh garlic cloves, very finely grated
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 125ml sunflower oil
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
Make the mayonnaise. Place the garlic, egg yolks, mustard and lemon juice in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper and whiz for 30 seconds. Combine the oils in a jug. With the processor running, add them very slowly to the mixture, a few drops at a time at first, then in a steady trickle. Once all the oil is incorporated, you should have a thick, glossy mayonnaise that holds its shape. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. You can also make this in a bowl with a whisk.
Bring a very large pan of well salted water to the boil. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice, which helps keep the artichokes’ colour, then lower in the artichokes. Cook until the base is tender when pierced with a knife and the leaves pull away easily. This may take 8 to 10 minutes for very young, freshly picked artichokes, or up to 20 to 30 minutes for larger ones.
Lift the artichokes out with tongs and stand them upside down so any water drains away from the hearts.
To eat, pull away the leaves, dip them into the mayonnaise and scrape the tender flesh from the base of each leaf with your teeth. When you reach the softer inner leaves with the purple tips, you can pull them away in one go and eat the pale bases.
Use a knife or spoon to scrape out and discard the fuzzy choke sitting over the heart. Cut the heart into pieces, dip into the mayonnaise and eat.
