This is our version of the Turkish classic, artichokes cooked in olive oil. Not only are these great to eat by themselves, but they are also a base ingredient in artichokes and kashkaval with pine nuts here. We wrote the recipe for large globe artichokes as they are more readily available, but the small violet ones work well in this recipe too, although you may need to reduce the cooking time.
2 lemons
1 cup/240ml water
4–5 large globe artichokes
½ cup/120ml white wine
1 large head of garlic, cut in half across the bulb to expose all cloves
4 sprigs of thyme
½ tsp whole peppercorns
½ tsp whole coriander seeds
½ tsp salt
1 cup/240ml olive oil
First prepare the artichokes. Juice one and a half lemons and mix the juice with the water. Then remove the artichoke hearts. You do this by placing an artichoke on the chopping board, cutting the stem off as close to the base as you can, then holding it firmly at the thickest part and, with a sharp serrated knife, cutting straight down just above where you are holding (at the point where the artichoke starts to narrow again). This should expose the top of the heart and you should see the tiny pink leaves at the beginning of the choke. If they are not showing, cut another thin slice until you can see them, then turn the cut surface of the artichoke to face you. Use your knife and follow the pattern of the artichoke by cutting away all the green leaves so you are left with the white heart. Then, with a small paring knife, remove the last of the green leaves from the base and place the cleaned heart in the lemon water. Repeat with all the others.