How to Make Artichoke Salad
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 40 mins
Ingredients needed to make Artichoke Salad:
- 4 Mammole artichokes
- 2 red chilies, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp celery cress
- 2 large avocados, peeled, stoned and chopped
- 5 1.2 oz shallots, coarsely chopped
- 1/8 oz mint leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 2 lemons
- 1 oz parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/3 oz parmesan shavings
- 8 anchovy fillets
- ¾ oz breadcrumbs
- 9 fl oz white wine
- ¼ oz sugar
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ½ pints vegetable broth, cooled
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooking instructions for Artichoke Salad:
- Peel off the outer, tough leaves from the artichokes and chop off the stalks.
- Discard the outermost leaves and reserve the rest, along with the stem and its core.
- Remove the tender leaves from each artichoke and rub a slice of lemon all over them to prevent them from losing colour.
- Place them in a bowl and fill it up with water; set aside.
- Heat a small lashing of oil, into a skillet and throw in the shallots as well as garlic.
- Sauté over moderate heat, stirring often, until they caramelize and toss the anchovies into it.
- Add a splash of white wine into it, along with the reserved stem and leaves.
- Stir them all together until well combined and continue to cook until the alcohol ebbs away.
- Season with a dash each of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, mint as well as sugar into it and pour in the vegetable broth.
- Bring it to a simmer and continue to do so for the next half an hour; turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool down.
- Place the avocado in a bowl and grate the lemon zest into it.
- Add the chopped chilies as well as a splash of lemon juice and toss them all together along with a dash of seasonings until well coated.
- Slice the raw artichoke into fine strips and smother them with a dash of salt and lemon juice.
- Stir it into the tossed avocado until they are distributed evenly throughout the mixture and set aside.
- Strain the artichoke cooking liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and whisk in some lemon juice and a good lug of olive oil until well combined.
- Pile up portions of the avocado-artichoke mixture at the centre of each serving plate and place the celery cress on top of each serving.
- Sprinkle the parmesan shavings over them and smother them with a generous drizzling of prepared dressing.
- Top it up with rest of the grated Parmesan and serve right away.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
