Turned artichoke hearts and steamed whole artichokes

Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze in two lemons, saving one half to rub the trimmed artichokes.

Turn the artichoke with the stem on: hold the knife and the artichoke straight up and cut away the leaves, rotating as you go, down to the lighter yellow leaves where the heart shows. Keep it round.

With a paring knife, trim off all remaining green from the base and around the stem.

Cut the top off with a bread knife, scoop out the fuzzy choke with a melon baller and rub with lemon to prevent oxidizing.

Keep the hearts in lemony water for a few days, or frozen in freezer bags for weeks.

Variation: snap off the stem rather than cutting it, which pulls more fibre out of the heart; the cleaning is the same. The choke can be removed before or after cooking, easier after.

To steam whole artichokes, put star anise, black peppercorns, salt and lemon in the water.

With a serrated knife, trim off the stem, remove the small outer leaves, trim off the top and cut off the sharp thorns on the leaf tips.

Soak in lemony water, then transfer to the pot. Bring to a boil on full heat, lower the heat and simmer about 30 minutes.

To stuff, remove the choke while hot, stuff, bake and serve. Otherwise serve with melted butter, mayonnaise, aioli, or a vinaigrette of red wine vinegar and olive oil.