Shaved Artichoke Salad

 Shaved Artichoke Salad is a great way to showcase how delicious artichoke is.  This salad is raw, gluten free, vegetarian and only takes 8 minutes to prepare.

Shaved Artichoke Salad Recipe with A Healthy Life For Me.

Several years ago my husband and I were in New York, and met a friend at a small Italian Restaurant for lunch in Chelsea.  The waiter had a thick Italian accent and recommended their Artichoke salad.  We all ordered it and I enjoyed it so much, I asked about the recipe.  Our waiter looked at me with a bit of exasperation and told me that “its just a simple Italian recipe.”  AH, “okay” I said and smiled at him, even though I was thinking he was a bit of an ass.

Later I did a  little research and it is true, the Italian Artichoke salad is a straight forward recipe, artichoke, lemon, parmesan cheese and olive oil.   So simple, but so delicious.  I found this recipe on The New York Times and have used it ever since.  I prefer using baby Artichokes instead of the larger ones, but you can use either one.  I just find the babies are easier to peel, and slice.  So, the waiter wasn’t an ass, but couldn’t understand why I needed to tell him a recipe that is one of the most simple salads to pull together.  Limited high quality ingredients with unbelievable texture, satisfying flavor and über healthy.

If you have never worked with artichokes before, don’t fret, they are easy to prepare.  I was once intimidated and not convinced when my Mother-n-law told me the same thing.  There is something that seems complicated about Artichokes but really there isn’t, you just peel away the outer leaves until you no come to the heart (you will know when you reach the heart, it is lighter in color and softer than the leaves).  Then you cut the stem off and slice the heart.  Make sure that you work with one Artichoke at a time plunging it into the lemon and ice water once it is sliced to stop it from becoming brown.  The acid from the lemons stops the oxidation forming the brown color in the artichokes.  Drain the sliced chokes and drizzle with olive oil and squeeze of lemon juice and a good quality parmesan cheese, shaved or grated over top, and you are done.  Easy, quick and delicious.

Artichokes are great for boosting the good quality fibers that help to clean your digestive track, liver and gall bladder.  They have also been proven as a natural way to treat high cholesterol.  They are packed with antioxidants and boost the immune system.

Give this Shaved Artichoke Salad a try, I would love to hear if it becomes one of your favorites too.

Subscribe to my blog | Follow me on Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Facebook