How to make Tart London's charred artichokes

Jemima Jones and Lucy Carr-Ellison serve up a sharing plate of smoky charred artichokes
Tart London's charred artichokes

The artichoke is the vegetable expression of civilised living: eaten slowly with delight, with each leaf dipped into an indulgent, buttery sauce.

We love the way artichokes make us all slow down and enjoy each other’s company while nibbling away at something delicious. That’s how summer evenings should be: sitting outside enjoying the deep golden rays with your feet up, letting the stress of the day float away.

There are a few general points that apply when preparing an artichoke. First, unless they are tightly closed, soak them upside down in salted water for an hour to dislodge earth or insects. Second, keep a lemon at hand and rub it immediately over any cut surfaces before they blacken. Last but not least, always remove the choke — the fuzzy part in the middle, just above the heart — when serving a prepared artichoke. True to its name, it’s too fibrous to eat and will stick in your throat.

Rich pickings: Jemima harvests wild garlic from the riverbank

One of our cheats is to buy a jar of pre-prepared artichoke hearts, add them to a pan on a high heat with a little oil and fry until crispy. They’re perfect in a salad with freshly sliced fennel, capers and dill.

We often serve this recipe with drinks before supper, or as a first course. It’s one to share and don’t be afraid to get your fingers messy (keep a few bowls of water on the table so you can clean them if necessary). Artichokes are commonly steamed, but we like the smokiness that’s added by charring it in a hot oven.

Charred artichokes with a fennel and tarragon aioli

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 or 5 artichokes

1 lemon, quartered

2 garlic cloves

2 shallots, peeled and quartered

For the aioli

1 large egg yolk

100ml extra virgin olive oil

200ml groundnut or sunflower oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp fennel seeds, chopped

Juice of ½ a lemon

1 tbsp chopped tarragon

1 garlic clove, crushed

Method

Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the artichoke heads with the quartered lemon.

Simmer for 15-35 minutes (depending on the size), drain and leave to cool.

Heat the oven to 190C.

Halve the cooked artichokes, spoon out the spiky middle and place on a baking tray, along with the garlic cloves and shallots.

Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then place in the oven for 30 minutes.

Once crisp and golden, take out and place on a serving platter.

To make the aioli, add the olive oil and groundnut oil slowly to the egg yolk, whisking constantly. Then whisk in the mustard, fennel seeds, crushed garlic, lemon juice and tarragon.

Place in a small bowl alongside the artichokes and serve with crusty bread and chilled white wine.

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