Italian ingredients: how to cook with artichokes

We’re currently in the middle of spring and artichoke season in Italy and while we love this traditional Italian product, cleaning and preparing the spikey artichoke variety can be difficult.
Artichokes can be high in tannins and if you don’t remove the external leaves properly, you’ll still be chewing on them the day after.

During the time in which the plant matures, the artichoke heart develops a hairy part, which the Italians call “barba” or “beard”.

To make any good Italian recipe with artichokes, this part needs to be removed.
You should have an idea of what you’re going to do with your artichokes before cleaning them because there are a couple of different methods you can use.
In any case, the first step is to soak your artichokes in water and bicarb soda to remove any dirt and other impurities.
Artichokes prickle and stain, so wear some gloves before the next steps.

Take a knife and cut off the stems a couple of centimetres from where the flower is.
Scrape away some of the surface of the rest of the stem so that when cooking, it softens.

Now there are two options you can use:The first is to remove the outer, hard leaves in a circular movement with the knife.
This requires some practice so don’t worry if it proves difficult at first.
The other option is to remove the leaves by picking them off, one at a time.
You need to continue until the tender part of the leaves are at the same height around the artichoke and you can remove the last bits at the top by chopping them off in one go.
If you need your artichokes whole if you’re boiling or stuffing them, you have to widen the flower a bit and remove the hairy part.
When chopping the artichokes, you can proceed with slicing or chopping, removing the hairy part as you go.
When they’re ready to be used, the artichokes should be conserved in some water with a squeeze of lemon juice until ready for cooking.