Time to kill? How about slaving over some artichokes alla Romana!

In lock-down there's really no excuse not to linger in the kitchen. I love artichokes Roman style but often hesitate to launch into the lengthy business of preparing and cooking them.  So when I came across a beautiful bunch of these brilliantly fresh, purple and green "buds" on my first visit to my local supermarket after five solid days of lock-down, I knew what I had to do.

Jump straight to ingredients and utensils

These artichokes are a bit bigger than the tiny ones I usually buy (known as "poivrade" in France). No matter the size, you have to pare them down ruthlessly. This calls for a wooden chopping board, a really sharp knife and half a lemon to rub over the cut leaves to keep them from discolouring. Holding the artichoke by the stem, cut off at least one-third of the leaves from the tips down. Then cut off the stem. Pull off the outside leaves from the base, then pare away at the top of the remaining leaves and all around the bottom of the artichoke.

That was the hardest part (including having to throw away all those leaves!). Gently open up each flower starting from the inside, the "choke",  gradually opening out the leaves.  Be careful not to break the artichoke in half as I did for one of them! Peel the stalks ruthlessly too, pulling away all the stringy part, then cut them in two or three pieces. Every little morsel counts in this labour of love.

In a small bowl mix together 2-3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, a tablespoon of chopped parsley and some chopped garlic (a large clove) with enough olive oil to form a fairly loose paste, plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Pack the centre of the artichokes with this mixture and insert some (if you can) between the outer leaves.

Then put the artichokes and stalks in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water, a squeeze of lemon and some of the rind of your cut lemon. Dribble olive oil over them, cover completely, place over a very low flame and let them cook quietly for at least an hour and a half. Lift the lid from time to time. You may have to add a tablespoon of water to stop them runing dry -  or to raise the heat to ensure they are actually steaming gently.

Here's the final result. Serve warm or at room temperature.  When properly prepared and cooked you should be able to eat every melting mouthful. (If you have to chew you'll know for next time to pare off even more than you thought!)

But if you've got it right, you'll be horrified to see that something you have spent up to an hour preparing  and more time cooking, is usually devoured in less than five minutes!

In a nutshell

Ingredients

• a bunch of artichokes with stems (usually five)
• olive oil - 2 tb
• breadcrumbs - 2-3 tb
• garlic (germ removed) - 2 cloves finely chopped
• a lemon cut in two
• parsley finely chopped - 2 tb (mint is optional as it is quite dominating)
• salt, pepper
• a cup of water

Utensils

• a chopping board
• a (very) sharp knife with a medium-sized blade
• a heavy bottom saucepan just big enough for the pared artichokes + lid
• a small mixing bowl for the stuffing
• a small teaspoon (for inserting the stuffing)