Cooking with globe artichokes

'Globe artichokes are a sight to behold in the kitchen garden. Mine, however, were looking a little sorry for themselves after night raids from slugs, until I took the culprits out for a few beers—in a manner of speaking. I set traps by pouring beer into jam jars, then submerged them in the soil. By morning, the slugs were so intoxicated they couldn’t do any damage. Since then, my artichokes have remained gloriously intact'

Tagliatelle with monkfish and chargrilled artichokes

Ingredients 2 lemons 4 globe artichokes (baby ones, if possible) 150ml white-wine Vinegar Olive oil 500g tagliatelle 300g monkfish, trimmed and sinew free 4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 red chillies (depending on how spicy you like it), finely chopped A handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped 100ml white wine Salad leaves to serve

Method Squeeze the juice from one of the lemons into a bowl of water and set aside.

Pull the coarse outer leaves off the first globe artichoke, using a small knife if necessary, and keep going until the pale-yellow leaves appear. Next, peel the stem until the tender part of it is exposed, using a vegetable peeler. Cut the artichoke into quarters and scoop out the ‘choke’ (if there is any baby ones won’t have developed this fibrous fuzz) with a teaspoon. Drop the artichoke into the bowl of lemon water and prepare the remaining three in the same way.

Choose a saucepan that will fit the artichoke pieces snugly, pour in enough water to almost cover them, add the white-wine vinegar and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain the artichokes, toss with a splash of olive oil, then season.

Heat a griddle pan and chargrill the artichokes, then set them aside until you’re ready to serve the finished dish. Alternatively, decant them into a sterilised, lidded jar and fill it to the brim with olive oil they’ll keep for a week in the fridge.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and add a splash of olive oil to prevent it bubbling over. Cook the tagliatelle, as per the packet instructions, until al dente.

In a large frying pan, heat a few generous splashes of olive oil and add the monkfish pieces. Fry for a few minutes until almost opaque, then add the chopped garlic, chillies, parsley, zest and juice from the remaining lemon, the white wine and the artichokes. Mix well. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it into the frying pan, stirring the sauce evenly through it. Divide between four pasta bowls and serve with a lightly dressed crisp green salad.

More delicious recipes from our kitchen garden cook

Steamed globe artichokes with a lemon-and-Parmesan dressing Prepare the artichokes as in the main recipe (right), then steam for about 30 minutes over water with some lemon juice in it. Combine a splash of olive oil, a knob of butter, crushed garlic and the juice of a lemon in a saucepan to create a dressing. Heat, making sure it doesn’t brown, then remove from the heat and add grated Parmesan. Mix well and pour into the centres of the artichokes. Serve with bread to mop up the dressing.

Artichoke, pearl barley and rocket salad Prepare the artichokes as in the main recipe, then toss with cooked pearl barley, chopped chillies, basil pesto and a few generous handfuls of rocket to create a salad.

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