Salad of artichoke hearts and lettuce

This is an easy way of eating artichokes.  It makes a slightly unusual, but exotic, salad dish to accompany other foods or as a starter or even a tapas dish.

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 10 Mins

Total Time: 45 Mins

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

4                    Globe artichokes      

2 hearts           Lettuce     

For the vinaigrette

½ tbs             Vinegar  - tarragon   

  Salt              

2 tbs               Olive oil    

Method

To prepare and cook the artichoke hearts...

Cut off the stalks from the artichokes and cook in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes or in a saucepan of boiling water for 40 minutes.  Drain and, when cool enough to handle, pull off all the leaves.  Then carefully cut out the thistly flower.

To make the vinaigrette…

Whip together the oil, vinegar and salt.

To assemble the salad…

While the artichokes are still warm, flavour them with half the vinaigrette.  Leave them to cool right own and place them on a bed of lettuce hearts and, at the last moment, pour the remainder of the

vinaigrette over the lettuce.  Serve.

Wine recommendations

An aromatic white wine or light red.

Conventional

     Mâcon

Interesting

     Beaujolais

     Côtes de Gascogne blanc

     Pinot Gris

     Reuilly blanc or rouge

Adventurous

     Manzanilla Sherry