THIS IS A FANTASTIC DISH AND VERY EASY TO PREPARE but to ensure you’re successful with it there are two instructions to
follow carefully. The first is to work quickly when prepping your artichokes and to put he sections straight into the acidulated water
so that they don’t go brown.
The second is to cook your squid fast. Your pan needs to be very, very hot before you put the seafood anywhere near it, and the
best way to guarantee perfectly cooked squid is to mix it with the oil before putting it in the pan (rather than putting the oil in the
pan), then to saut. it very quickly – just for 30 seconds.
The squid will stay beautifully crunchy on the outside but nice and juicy on the inside – a perfect explosion of flavour and texture in
your mouth.
SERVES 4
3–4 artichokes, preferably mammole or violet
(don’t use globe)
juice of 1 large lemon, plus the grated zest of ó
50ml extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for frying
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
2 mint leaves, finely sliced
500g baby squid, cleaned and cut into 5mm rings
20g bottarga (mullet roe)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE PICKLE BRINE
500ml water
500ml muscatel vinegar
1 bay leaf
5 white peppercorns
2 juniper berries
PREPARATION
Clean the artichokes by taking off the external leaves until you reach the tender ones. Prepare two bowls of water. Put aside 1
tablespoon of the lemon juice and mix it with the zest, then divide the remaining juice between the bowls of water. Pick the tender
artichoke leaves one by one and put into one of the bowls of acidulated water to
prevent discolouring. Scoop out the hairy choke with a spoon, slice the artichoke hearts and place in the second bowl. Peel the
artichoke stalks, slice them and add to the bowl with the leaves.
Put all the ingredients for the pickle brine into a pan and bring to the boil, then drain the artichoke leaves and sliced stalks and add
them to the liquid. Simmer for 2. – 3 minutes, until the artichoke is cooked through but still a little crunchy. Drain and place on a
kitchen towel to dry and cool.
In a bowl, mix the oil, reserved lemon juice and zest, chilli and mint.
Drain the sliced artichoke hearts and leaves, mix with this dressing and set aside.
Heat a frying pan over a high heat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and fry the squid and pickled artichokes very quickly, until the squid
is golden brown. Check the seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish with the artichoke and finish by
pouring over the artichoke hearts and dressing and tossing together, then shaving the bottarga over the top.
