This is a recipe from the Ramsay protege Clare Smyth. It’s an unpretentious and hearty french stew, yet takes only 10 – 15 minutes. Mine is a little toned down from her version, going with what I had in the cupboard. It’s usually made with fresh artichoke but I used a jar of good-quality chokes that I had knocking about. It’s very tasty and very simple – my only slight criticism is that I think this will taste much better in the Spring.

Artichokes a la barigoule:

200g pancetta

200g baby onions, peeled and halved

1 carrot, sliced

1 clove garlic, sliced

4 mushrooms, quartered

100ml cider

200ml vegetable stock

500g jar of artichokes

Chopped parsley

Fry the pancetta and onions in a pan until browned. Add the carrots and mushrooms and stir fry four a couple of minutes.

Add the cider and bubble over a high heat. Add the stock and reduce to a simmer.

When the vegetables are tender increase the heat to high and get the sauce reduced down to a thick glaze. Add the artichokes to warm through.

Serve with parsley and bread for mopping up.

The original recipe can be found here.