Dalmatian-style artichokes | Artičoke na Dalmatinski

The truth is I haven't had a real, live artichoke in years. The last time I had one (that wasn't marinated in a glass jar) was when I visited my cousin and his French wife in Normandy. As a starter she boiled up some of these green wonders, whipped up some homemade mayo and boom! You took off a leaf (yes, one leaf at a time) dunked it in the mayo and sucked on that delicious flesh. But it's one thing having them served to you, quiet another to make them yourself.

So when I saw the most crispy fresh looking artichokes at the local farmers market, and having flipped through Ino Kuvačić's wonderful cookbook Dalmatia (Recipes from Croatia's Mediterranean Coast) I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Rather than buying the required eight artichokes I only bought two, because, to be honest I didn't know how they would turn out, but Ino's recipe filling was actually enough for the two although they were quite over-stuffed (no one complained!)

Ino's recipe says nothing about the stock cooking juices, but I thought these were absolutely delicious and would recommend some crusty bread to sop it all up. Or maybe just use a spoon (like I did) and consume it like a soup!

Let me know if you tried the recipe and if an earthy artichoke is for you?

Dobar Tek! Zivjeli! (Bon Appetit! Cheers and let's live!)