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Grilled artichokes with garlic, chilli and pine nuts

Tom Kime from Market Kitchen
For a special vegetarian barbecue treat, try Tom Kime's chilli-spiked artichokes cooked in the coals

Grilled artichokes with garlic, chilli and pine nuts

Method

1. Fire up a charcoal barbecue until the coals are white-hot.

2. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Watch carefully as they scorch very easily.

3. Finely chop the garlic, and finely crush the dried chilli with a pinch of salt. Mix the pine nuts, garlic, chilli, and parsley with the olive oil and lemon juice. Season well with salt and pepper.

4. Take an artichoke and trim down the stem. Prise the leaves apart, without pulling them off. Work your way to the centre of artichoke. Using a teaspoon, remove the hairy choke by scraping in a circular motion. Take a teaspoon of the pine nut mixture and push it down towards the base. Add another spoonful of the filling and spread it among the centre inner leaves. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.

5. Season the inside of the artichokes with salt and pepper. Carefully place the artichokes among the white-hot coals, keeping them vertical. Grill for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally and cooking in batches if necessary.

6. To test whether they are cooked, hold one with a pair of tongs. Insert the point of small knife into the base just above the stem. It should be soft. If not, cook for a few more minutes.

7. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Have some extra virgin olive oil and two lemon wedges ready. Pull off the blackened outside leaves and discard. Pour a little extra virgin olive oil into the centre and squeeze over some lemon juice.

8. Peel off and eat the inner leaves. The soft, pale centre can be eaten in couple of mouthfuls, stalks and all.

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Serves: 4-6

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 15 min

Ingredients
100g pine nuts
4 garlic cloves, halved and any green inner shoot removed
2 small dried red chillies
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
2 Lemons, juice only
18 small violet-tinged artichokes
lemon wedges, to serve