For a real treat, try this salad of shaved baby artichokes layered with Parmesan: It’s unbelievable. The same ultra-thin slicing principle applies for this salad as for Brussels Sprout Salad (page 44).
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 8 baby artichokes, cleaned (see pages 168–169)
- Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or basil for garnish
How to Make It
- Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into a large bowl of ice water. Slice the artichoke hearts, and the bottoms, if they’re tender enough, as thin as possible. As you slice them, drop them into the water; this will help keep them from browning.
- Shave the Parmesan into thin slices with a vegetable peeler; you want about as many pieces as you have artichoke slices, of about the same size. Zest the second lemon, then juice it.
- Drain the artichoke slices and pat dry. Dry the bowl and return the artichoke slices to it. Add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Sprinkle with a little salt and a generous amount of pepper and toss gently.
- Layer the artichokes with the Parmesan on a platter or individual plates. Taste and add more olive oil, lemon juice, salt, or pepper as needed. Garnish with the lemon zest and parsley, and serve right away. SHAVED MUSHROOM SALAD
- Really simple: Instead of the artichokes, slice 1 pound white button mushrooms as thinly as possible. No need to drop them into lemony water. Proceed from Step 2. SHAVED APPLE SALAD
- Aged white cheddar or Parmesan is equally good here: Use 4 tablespoons cider vinegar instead of the lemons (omit the zest) and substitute about 1½ pounds any crisp apple for the artichokes. Use 3 tablespoons of the vinegar in the soaking water. Core the apples and slice them thin; proceed with the recipe, substituting the remaining tablespoon cider vinegar for the lemon juice in the dressing. Dill or chives are nice alternatives to the parsley or basil.
