This a fabulously summery risotto, creamy lemony......yummy! I really wanted to cook calamari yesterday but alas none were to be found in F&B and I didn't have the energy to go to Kish. I had a poke around the art installation that is the vegetable display in F&B and my sensory memory was taken back to last year when my very good Italian friend had cooked an artichoke risotto -so I picked up 3 globe artichokes and headed home trying to remember as much as I could about how he had prepared it. I couldn't remember exactly but the result was as they say molto buono. So follow me through the magic artichoke door......

Like risotto people are sort of fearful about the artichoke and yes it is a fiddly vegetable, somewhat like the fairy tale Rapunzel you have to break through a lot of armaments but eventually you reach the treasure and it is so worth it! Okay so you can either take all the inedible parts off the vegetable first and slice the heart into water with lemon to stop it going brown...but unless you really know the anatomy of artichokes this can be confusing ....so do as I did

remove some of the outer leaves the ones that have nothing to offer your stomach
put into a large pot of boiling water with a quartered lemon
simmer for 35/45 mins depending on size
remove from the pot when you can squeeze the stalk
allow to cool while you make a start on the basic risotto recipe as:

/theopendoorsupperclub/2011/01/fearless-risottoa-new-alliance.html

back to the cooled artichokes -peel off the outer leaves set aside
slice up the heart and add to the risotto when it is almost finished cooking
add the juice of a lemon and half the zest
melt some butter add pepper and some lemon juice -drizzle over the artichoke leaves
dish up the risotto finishing with some lemon zest and grated parmigiano
enjoy with a nice glass of prosecco or white wine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh44QPT1mPE

A fitting song ....Neil Young -Heart of Gold