Carciofi alla Romana – Roman-style artichokes

Get ready to prepare the artichokes by filling a large bowl with water. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the water, placing the squeezed-out skins into the water too – it's important that you place your prepared artichokes straight into this acidulated water to prevent discolouration

Peel off the outer leaves of one of the artichokes until you get to the softer leaves in the centre

Using a small knife or vegetable peeler, remove the tough outer skin of the 'heart' and the stem of the artichoke. Rub with the lemon halves as you work to prevent discolouration

Next, use a sharp knife to slice off the remaining soft leaves from about halfway up. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the hairy 'choke' in the centre and place the artichoke in the acidulated water while you prepare the rest

Crush the garlic cloves in pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt and grind to a paste. Add most of the chopped herbs (reserving a few for presentation at the end) and give everything a quick grind to form a rough paste

Cut the artichokes into quarters and marinate in the garlic and herb paste, getting it between the leaves if you can

Place in a pan and cover with the white wine and oil. Squeeze in the juice of the remaining lemon half and simmer for 10–15 minutes, or until they are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the liquid

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and the remaining chopped herbs and eat at room temperature