Grilled baby artichokes

This is an enjoyable way to eat artichokes. Just hold the skewer with the artichoke in one hand, he other and dip that into the hot melted butter. It is important to use lat no one has to tussle with a hairy choke.

Soak the skewers in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain, then skewer a baby artichoke on each one. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Squeeze the juice of one lemon half, and add it, with the lemon shell, to the pan. Place the artichokes head first into the pan and boil for 5-8 minutes, or until just tender. Drain well. Set aside for up to 1 hour or use at once.

Prepare the barbecue. Put the butter, garlic and parsley into a small pan and squeeze in the juice of the remaining lemon.

Once the flames have died down, position a lightly oiled grill rack over the coals to heat. When the coals are cool, or with a thick coating of ash, they are ready to cook the artichokes. If the artichokes have been allowed to cool, wrap the heads in heavy foil and place them on the grill for 3 minutes, then unwrap and return to the heat for 1 minute, turning frequently. If they are still hot, grill without the foil for 4 minutes, turning often.

When the artichokes are almost ready, melt the butter sauce in the pan on the barbecue. Serve it with the artichokes on their skewers.

Serves 6
12 baby artichokes with stalks, total weight about 1.3kg/3lb
1 lemon, halved
200g/7oz/scant 1 cup butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed with a pinch of salt
15ml/1 tbsp flat leaf parsley
Salt and ground black pepper
12 long wooden skewers