Baked Artichokes with Parmesan and Prosciutto Ham

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Artichokes, medium sized

1 lemon, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed

56g of parmesan cheese

56g of Prosciutto (Parma) ham, approx 4 slices - cut up finely

splash of balsamic vinegar

for the dip:

4 tablespoon of extra light mayonnaise

splash of balsamic vinegar

Method

Wash the artichokes under a cold running tap.

Then using some sharp scissor, snip an inch or so off the tip of each artichoke leaf. You will see each leave has what looks like a little claw, this is what you are cutting off. As shown in the image below:

Once you have trimmed all leaves.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the lemon slices and cloves of garlic. Once the water is bubbling, add the artichokes.

Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for approx 15 mins.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200c of 400f.

Once the artichokes have been cooking for 15 mins. Remove them from the saucepan.

Using some foil, make two rings, for the artichokes to sit upright in, and place the artichokes in a oven proof baking dish.

Sprinkle each artichoke, with 28g of parmesan cheese and top with 28g of chopped up Prosciutto ham. Add a little splash of balsamic vinegar to the top. Place the dish in the oven and bake until cheese has melted and is golden.

While the artichokes bake in the oven, mix the mayonnaise in a small dish with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Serve on a large plate between two, with the dip.

To eat the artichoke, you pull the leaves off one by one,dip the stem of the leaf (this is the part that was attached to the artichoke) into the mayonnaise dip, then place the stem into you mouth, bite down with your teeth and pull the leaf which will remove the meaty part from the leaves. I love this bit.

When all leaves are pretty much gone, you can then eat the melted parmesan and Prosciutto ham just before you tackle the yummy artichoke heart.

When you  get to the heart, you will noticed it is covered in very fine fibres, almost like little hairs, scrap these away with a spoon, to reveal the flesh off the heart, you can then scoop the flesh and eat it.