Artichoke Salad

A raw artichoke relish rather than a dressed salad, and it only works with genuinely young artichokes. Everything depends on that.

• Which artichokesUse baby artichokes, roughly 2 to 3 inches long, generally sold in spring and again in autumn. A full-sized globe artichoke has a fibrous choke and tough outer leaves, so only its trimmed heart is suitable raw, and then only sliced very thin.
• What "remove the chokes" meansIn a very young artichoke the choke is only a soft pale fuzz at the base of the inner leaves; scrape it out with a knife tip. The "them" to be eaten is the quartered artichoke itself, leaves and heart together.
• TrimmingSnap off the tough outer leaves until you reach pale green ones, cut off the top third of the cone, and pare the stem. Raw artichoke leaves that resist a fingernail will resist teeth too.
• BrowningCut surfaces oxidise quickly. Drop the quarters into water with the juice of a lemon as you work, and dry them before dressing.
• The dressingNo quantities are given. Something like three parts oil to one part vinegar, with salt and pepper, is a usual proportion; lemon juice in place of the vinegar suits raw artichoke.
• Serving and yieldThe recipe gives no quantities; six to eight baby artichokes will fill a small relish dish for four as a first course or an accompaniment. The comparison to radishes suggests the seasonings were offered at table rather than mixed in advance.
• The nut flavourThe recipe calls for quarters; slicing them thinly across the grain instead is one way to reduce any residual toughness.