Artichoke Carpaccio
Carpaccio di Fondi
While I still have a few fondi left in the fridge, I thought I could get a quick carpaccio together. Carpaccio usually refers to thinly slice beef that is dressed with Parmiggiano shavings, olive oil and lemon juice. In this recipe, it is the artichoke that is finely sliced and I’ve dressed it with lemon juice, olive oil, capers and shaving of a hard, matured goat cheese. This is an elegant starter which is easier than easy to prepare. People are easily impressed if you present them with a unique raw artichoke dish like this.
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tablespoons of small capers
50 g hard goat cheese
1 lemon
black pepper
Method
To cut the artichokes very thinly and uniformly, I suggest using a mandolin which gives you the the same sized cut every time. Just be very careful not to slice your finger tips or finger nails off as mandolins can be unforgiving if used without caution. If you are starting with a whole artichoke, I recommend cleaning and preparing the base but keeping the leaves attached as they will be a great handle to hold onto, making it much safer to use the mandolin. If you don’t have artichoke bottoms you can also use very thinly sliced artichokes.
I leave the artichokes till last as they will be less likely to discolour. Click here to see how to prepare the artichoke bottoms.
Firstly, drain the capers of their brine. If your are using salted capers, rinse under running water for several minutes.
Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a wide shallow bowl.
Begin slicing the clean artichokes and put them straight into the lemon juice, ensuring they are a completely coated. This will begin to marinate them and stop them from browning.
Once you have finished slicing the choke you can arrange them on the serving plates as you like.
Sprinkle on the capers.
Crack or grind on some black pepper.
Shave the cheese very thinly with a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife directly onto the carpaccio
Drizzle generously with some extra virgin olive oil.
Tags: artichoke bottoms, artichoke carpaccio, artichoke recipes, carpaccio di carciofi, fondi di carciofi, raw artichoke, ricette carciofi
