How to clean Artichoke (Come pulire i carciofi)

VIDEO TUTORIAL
How to clean Artichoke - Come pulire i carciofi

VIDEO RECIPE
Artichoke Lasagna - Lasagne ai carciofi

Take half lemon and rub the juice all over your hands to prevent them from turning black while you work with the artichokes
The technique for cleaning artichokes depends on how you are cooking them; if you are going to make stewed, steamed or filled artichoke. Take one artichoke at a time and cut the stem off leaving up about 2 inches from the flower head then remove any of the hard leaves around the stem that are not edible
Once it's done, using a sharp stainless steel knife, peel the stem and the green layer off the bottom, do it quickly because artichokes such as other fruits or vegetables rapidly turn black and oxidize, so place a bowl of water and lemon juice near you to place the cleaned artichokes into and rub the cut parts and stem with a half lemon
Remove the pointed tops off cutting them from bottom to top then put the artichoke in the acidulated water and rub well with a half lemon, finally use your fingers to pull apart the leaves until the centre is exposed
With a coffee spoon scoop out and discard the inner hairy choke
Once cleaned, drop again the trimmed artichoke into acidulated water until you are ready to cook

There is another way to cut artichoke and to use for different recipes such as artichoke julienne cut or any other preparation that need sliced artichoke: first cut off the bottom of the stem leaving about 2 inches, pull off the dark-green outer leaves, using a sharp knife peel the stem and remove the base of the leaves all around then put it in the acidulated water and rub with lemon
Now cut the artichoke in half lengthwise and remove the top of the leaves, use a coffee spoon to scoop out the fuzzy choke, rub the cleaned artichoke with lemon then keep it completely submerged in the bowl until you are ready to cook