What haven’t I done before? ​Cooked an artichoke.

Ingredients (serves 2 as a starter…a small starter):
2 x Artichokes
1 x Lemon, sliced

Method:
1. Pop some fresh lemon slices into a bowl of cold water (this prevents the artichokes going brown).
2. Rinse your artichokes and then remove the stem (it can be quite tough so give it some welly). Although I was advised to keep some of the stem, I found it really really tough but if you do keep it I suggest peeling lightly and wiping with lemon.
3. Remove any leaves that are near to the stem and also that are really tough (and in some cases turning brown).
4. Take a centimetre off the top of the artichoke – it’s quite difficult to do, so I did use scissors at some points.
5. As you remove leaves make sure you rub a lemon slice over it to try and stop it going brown.
6. Bring a pan of ‘lemon water’ to the boil and pop the artichokes in – boil for 30-45 minutes.
7. Cut the artichoke in half and remove the hair (this isn’t edible). You will then see the heart which is delicious with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon. If you are serving as part of a formal occassion I would suggest neatening it up and potentially take all the outer leaves off (as seen in the picture above).