Yes, raw. Uncooked artichokes have a wonderful and unique flavor. The coarse texture and subtle, but rich, flavors of this salad will offer an excellent contrast to your favorite homey pasta dish.
Ingredients:
4 medium artichokes
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemmon
1 Tablespoon good quality red wine vinegar
Coarse ground black pepper to taste
1/4 pound Parmigiano-Reggiana cheese
Peel off the artichoke leaves until only the pale yellow centers show. Useing a paring knife trim off any remaining green patches. Cut in half and using a teaspoon scrape out the inner thistles. This is the worst part of the preparation, and, judging by the mess of leaves and thistles on your kitchen counter, it will look like you've wasted almost all of the artichoke. But don't worry. (Artichokes can be prepared to this point several hours in advance if kept completely covered in water made acidic with some lemon juice.)
Using a very sharp knife, cut artichokes into paper thin slices. Toss them in a bowl with the remaining ingreedients until mixed.
Because the ingreedients for this salad are few and simple, they must all be the best quality available. If you are working from a block of Parmigiano you can use a vegetable peeler to create shavings to garnish.
