Artichokes with salty butter thyme sauce

12 artichoke heads

...

Cooking stock:

1.5 litres of water

2 tbs salt

3 bay leaves

1 clove of garlic - halved

juice of 1 big lemon

large sprig of fresh thyme

300 ml white wine

...

Sauce:

150 g unsalted butter

1 can of anchovies in olive oil

strands of finely julienned lemon peel (1 tsp)

1 big clove of garlic

thyme leaves (fresh)

black pepper

People are put off by 'preparing artichokes' and anchovies. Artichokes are easier then the instructions for cleaning suggest. Really you're just trying to get to the softer fruit in the centre of all those leaves. And anchovies are one of the best 'secret ingredients' you can use.

Put the Cooking stock ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil; while it's heating clean the artichokes. Don't worry about rubbing them with lemon - just do them quickly and pop them into the stock - if you can't do it rapidly pop them into a mixture of cold water with the juice of 2 lemons (to stop browning). Trim the stalk down to a less fibrous thickness; pull off a good few of the outer leaves until they look lighter green and softer; cut off the top half of the bulb and using a small teaspoon twist out the flowery fluffy bit inside. Then cut down the length and add to the stock.

Cook these a good 20 minutes or until they are quite soft. Meanwhile, make the buttery sauce.

Gently warm the butter in a sauce pan; roughly chop the anchovies then add with a bit of the can oil. In the pan using a fork (carefully) mash them in the melted butter; let it warm a minute then add a finely sliced clove of garlic; this mixture must then very gently take a slightly golden brown colour. Not long before serving add the fresh thyme leaves and some black pepper while still on the heat.

Drain the artichokes and let them stand for a minute or two to drain off the liquid.

Arrange on a plate. Add the lemon julienne (super thin strands of lemon peel - no white/pith) to the butter sauce and then drizzle over the artichokes. Serve with a good fluffy bread to soak up the salty buttery juice.