Treated in this way, artichokes have an unexpected, slightly nutty flavor. The combination of this salad of raw artichokes with a few fine slices of wind-dried beef or raw ham is a very good one.

Steps

1. Draw your knife through the lemon and at the same time squeeze lemon juice all over the artichoke in order that it may not turn black.
2. Cut off the stalk close to the head, remove all the tough outer leaves, then cut off the top half of the artichoke, which is discarded. Now cut the half which is left in half again, lengthways, exposing the choke, or “hay” as the French call it. This is now easily removed with the knife.
3. Squeeze more lemon over the artichoke, and cut each half, downwards, into the thinnest possible slices, so that they emerge fan-like and delicate. When all the artichokes are sliced, season them with oil, salt, and possibly a little more lemon.