Raw artichoke & herb salad

Another one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook recipes I recently made as part of Christmas Eve dinner was the Raw artichoke & herb salad. I took the super easy way out and did canned artichoke hearts though…

Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients:
2 or 3 large globe artichokes (1 1/2 lb/700 g in total) (used 2-3 cans of artichoke hearts)
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cups/40g arugula
1/2 cup/ 15 g torn mint leaves
1/2 cup/ 15 g torn cilantro leaves
1 oz/ 30 g pecorino toscano or romano cheese, thinly shaved
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Prepare a bowl with water mixed with half of the lemon juice.2. Remove the stem from one artichoke and pull off the tough outer leaves. Once you reach the softer, pale leaves, use a large, sharp knife to cut across the flower so that you are left with the bottom quarter. Use a small, sharp knife to remove the outer layers of the artichoke until the base (or bottom) is exposed. Scrape out the hairy “choke” and put the base in the acidulated water. Discard the rest, then repeat with the other artichokes. Drain the artichokes and pat dry with paper towels. Using a mandoline (or a large, sharp knife), cut the artichokes into paper-thin slices and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Squeeze over the remaining lemon juice, add the olive oil, and toss well to coat. You can leave the artichoke for up to a few hours if you like, at room temperature. (So I just sort of skipped this whole part and simply opened cans of artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed them).

When ready to serve, add the arugula, mint, and cilantro to the artichoke and season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Toss gently and arrange on serving plates. Garnish with the pecorino shavings.