How to cook an artichoke

I have often wondered about the mysterious artichoke and how it goes from its flower head form to its delicious hearts in a jar, on the supermarket shelf, finish.

So I thought I'd investigate...

Step 1.

Buy an artichoke

Step 2.

Do a bit of googling

Step 3.

Boil a pot of water

Step 4.

Give it a haircut: Trim spiky tips off leaves & chop the tip off and any excess stalk

Step 5.

Put said artichoke into the boiling water and drown it with a smaller pot lid

Step 6.

Get fancy: Put some lemon, garlic cloves and pepper corns in the mix

Step 7.

Go watch something riveting for 30-40 minutes

Step 8.

Poke the artichoke to see if its cooked (should be nice and soft)

Step 9.

Remove the drowned artichoke, only to cut the poor bastard in half!

Step 10.

Scoop out its furry bits

Step 11. 

Pull leaves and dip!

Stay tuned for what I did with it's heart...