Appearing in guises from leafy green to soft grey to velvety purple, the artichoke seems a lot more mysterious than it really is. Yes, preparing this vegetable does require a bit of careful cutting and trimming, but once you’ve plucked the leaves and dipped them in a tangy sauce like hollandaise, aioli or just simple lemon juice and butter, you won’t look back.

Traditionally, marinated artichoke hearts – scooped out of a jar of lovely nutty olive oil – are used as the ‘spring’ section of the Four Seasons pizza, with olives for summer, mushrooms for autumn, and prosciutto for winter.

Large globe artichokes can be stuffed with all manner of ingredients, like ground lamb and spices as they do in North Africa, or breadcrumbs, garlic, herbs, cheese, and prosciutto as is done in Italy. Younger and more tender artichokes are favoured in Spain, where they are tossed into a paella, or lightly fried with eggs in a frittata.

Artichokes have an antioxidant capacity among the highest of all the veggies, and have been shown to aid to digestion, strengthen the function of the liver and gall bladder, and reduce cholesterol levels. It’s easier than it might seem to cook this curious vegetable – and the results are delicious.

Quick ideas

• The simplest way to serve a freshly cooked artichoke is to add a sprinkling of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and shavings of Parmesan.
• Artichokes are great in a warm potato salad – especially if you add a bit of whole-grain mustard too.
• Prepare a quick, sexy lunch by grilling slices of seed loaf or rye bread topped with a strong cheese (such as gruyère). Once the cheese is golden and bubbly, remove the bread from the oven and top with marinated artichokes, and finely chopped parsley and red onion.
• Throw together a salad of thinly sliced pears, marinated artichokes, blanched asparagus and rocket. Drizzle with a mixture of olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
• Combine coarsely chopped artichoke hearts, marinated red pepper strips, pine nuts, grated lemon rind, lemon juice and fresh parsley to make a zingy salsa to serve with fish.
• Together with onion, olive oil and all the other basics, tarragon and artichoke work beautifully together on a roast chicken.