Artichoke pickled in lemon
Ingredients:
4 very fresh artichokes
3 lemons
Bowl of water
1 large white onion
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
Squeeze one lemon into bowl of water, retain the squeezed lemon;
Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemons into a second bowl;
Peel the artichoke stem and wipe with the squeezed lemon to prevent discoloration;
Pull the petals off the heart of the artichoke, leaving as much flesh as possible on the heart. When you get to the small purple internal petals, cut them off with a knife, wipe the heart with the squeezed lemon to prevent discoloration;
With a small knife, scrape out the concavity of the heart until it is smooth. wipe with the squeezed lemon to prevent discoloration;
Place the hearts upside down on a surface and with a knife scrape the sides to remove the remainder of the petals until all that remains is the heart, smooth and clean. wipe with the squeezed lemon to prevent discoloration; place the cleaned heart into the bowl of water and lemon. Treat all hearts in this manner.
Remove the hearts from the bowl and wipe well with a towel. Slice the hearts into slices as thin as possible. Periodically dip the slices into the bowl of lemon juice and be certain all are covered well.
Peel the onion. Cut in half and slice each half across the layers into very thin slices.
Add the onion slices to the artichoke slices and mix well. Add the salt and the olive oil and mix well.
This can be eaten immediately or can be stored in the fridge for 2 – 3 days. This is very delicious and refreshing as a side to a meat dish and also as a snack with all alcoholic drinks.
