Amsterdam Foodie

It’s been a year since I introduced my monthly seasonal dish to the website, and what better way to mark its anniversary than by cooking with the Amsterdam Foodie’s symbol? The artichoke!

Actually, the idea was suggested to me by Pavla, a member of my food group on Facebook – so Pavla, this one’s for you!

Artichokes are notoriously difficult to prepare, so I decided to follow a recipe by Rose Gray. As a result, I boiled the artichokes whole before peeling off the leaves, taking out the choke and cutting them up. With hindsight, it was a mistake because half the flesh stuck to the leaves and it would have been much more efficient to prepare it raw (as I was taught, and as Jamie Oliver suggests!) but not to worry.

I turned the base of the artichoke into a salad with boiled lemons , toasted almonds and thyme, which admittedly doesn’t look very attractive because artichokes have an annoying habit of turning grey.

Not wanting to throw away the leaves, however, I dipped them in good olive oil and sucked the flesh off them. Waste not, want not, as my mother always says…

PS. Sorry for rubbish photos; well, even-more-rubbish-than-usual photos… Since I replaced my computer I don’t have MS Picture Manager, and still trying to figure out how to edit/compress pictures on a PC. Any recommendations?!