Carciofi Crudi for #ItalianFWT

This month the Italian Food, Wine & Travel - #ItalianFWT - blogging group wraps up our last region of Italy: Liguria. Follow along the journey with my fellow #ItalianFWT bloggers.  You can also chat with us live this Saturday morning at 11am EST on Twitter at #ItalianFWT.  Hope to see you there!

To Liguria

Liguria lies, along the coast of the Ligurian Sea, between France to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east. The narrow region is bordered by the sea, the Alps and the Apennines mountains.

The #ItalianFWT Crew...

• Vino Travels – Wine & Sunshine on the Italian Riviera
• Cooking Chat – Ligurian Pesto Pasta with Wine Pairing
• Food Wine Click – Trofie al Pesto with Cinque Terre DOC
• Girl's Gotta Drink – A Cinque Terre Alternative? 5 Less Touristy Italian Riviera Destinations
• Rockin Red Blog – Two Hours in Ligura with #ItalianFWT
• Avvinare– Liguria – Hometo a Host of Unsung Wines
• L'Occasion – Life is Good in Liguria
• The Wining Hour - Ligurian Pigato with Pesto Focaccia and Shellfish
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla - Carciofi Crudi

My Empty Glass...

I came late to this party. Ugh. With the end of the school year, my head just spins and I lose track of certain "fun" writing deadlines. So, I neglected to track down a bottle of Ligurian wine. Boo. But I'm looking forward to relaxing with a chilled glass of Vermentino. Soon. School's out in less than a week!

On My Plate...

Never in my life had I eaten a raw artichoke until I lived in Italy. Steamed, yes. Grilled, absolutely. Roasted, certainly. Raw? That's was a new one for me.

But come Springtime in Italy, raw artichoke abounds. If you've ever visited the Ligurian coast, you may have seen a salad on local menus called, Carciofi Crudi. Most often, in Liguria, it's served with arugula and parmigiano. In Rome, we just ate it with lemon, olive oil, a little salt, and a little pepper.

I decided to make a version with our local artichokes, fennel from our CSA box, and Meyer lemons from our tree.

Ingredients makes 1 serving

• 1 artichoke, leaves and choke removed
• 1/2 fennel bulb
• fennel fronds
• 2 t freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 C grated parmigiano
• Also needed: mandolin slicer

Procedure

In a small bowl, mix together 1 T olive oil and 1 t lemon juice. Mandolin the artichokes and coat them with the olive oil-lemon mixture to keep them from oxidizing. Mandolin the fennel.

Whisk together 1 T oil and 1 t lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lay fennel fronds on your serving plate. Place a mound of fennel on top of the fronds. Drain the artichokes and place them on top of the fennel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parmigiano. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and serve immediately.