More than one way to Slice an Artichoke

On the cruise I took in March, one of the egg dishes had artichoke on it.  When it arrived, the artichoke was sliced in a crescent, down the middle.  I'd never seen it presented that way.  I've only had it either steamed whole or baby ones cut in quarters.  This struck me as a great way to slice them for salad, as you would an avocado.  Bit more work, but similar idea.

Like an avocado, you have to take precautions to avoid discoloration.  I did it by steaming the flower first, then removing the inedible parts.  You get a better yield that way anyway.  A quick bath through lemon water after slicing gave them a shelf life of a couple hours, until the salad was served.

1.  Trim off top 1/3 of artichoke and cut the stem end flat.  Place in a saucepan with water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook until tender and leaves have darkened, about 15 minutes.  Large buds will take longer.

2.  Turn upside down on cutting board and remove leaves with a sharp knife, taking off as little of the "meat as possible.  When you get down to the most tender leaves, turn the bud right side up and pull them off, exposing the choke.

3.  With a tomato corer or melon baller, scrape out choke hairs.  What remains is the heart, a disappointingly small disc compared to what you started with.

4.  Slice thinly, straight across.  Except for a couple of slices on the outside, you'll get crescents.  Drizzle with lemon juice if not serving immediately, and use to garnish salads or other dishes.

Difficulty rating  :)