Check with your fishmonger whether the clams have been cleaned. If you need to clean them yourself, put them into a bowl of cold water with a tablespoon of fine salt and leave them for 40 minutes, moving them around gently every 10 minutes. The salt water makes them expel any sand.
To prepare the artichokes, first remove the top two layers of the leaves, then cut off the top third of the artichoke. With a small knife or a peeler, peel the artichokes from the bottom of the stalk to the top: you don’t want to be able to see any dark green, just the pale layer underneath.
Put the peeled artichokes into a large bowl of water with the lemon juice and parsley stalks: these will stop the peeled artichokes discolouring while you prepare the rest.
Heat the 1½ litres of olive oil in a large pan and add the garlic and herbs. Drain and dry the artichokes, then add to the oil and let them cook on a very low heat (confit them) for 20–30 minutes, or until tender. Remove the artichokes from the pan and leave to drain, then cut in half.
Put 30ml of olive oil into a pan on a medium heat, then add the artichoke halves and caramelize on all sides until light golden brown. Remove from the pan.
Add another 30ml of olive oil to the pan, along with the garlic, and, when it starts to soften and turn golden, add 4 tablespoons of parsley. Pour in the wine and cook to evaporate the alcohol. Stir in the flour to thicken the sauce, then add the clams and dried chilli and stir again. Add the fish stock and stir vigorously. As soon as the clams start to open, put the artichokes back into the pan.
Season with a little salt and pepper and the remaining parsley, and serve.
