Baked Artichokes with Parmesan and Butter / Carciofi al Forno con Parmigiano e Burro Valentina Harris SERVES 2

Spring time all’Italiana means great bunches of leafy artichokes being sold by the roadside by farmers all over the country.  There is something unique about their flavour, almost metallic, but if, like me, you love them, then you really love them!  Cleaning and preparing  artichokes is a bind, so much so that in Italy green grocers or market stall holders do the job for you, or alternatively you buy them ready cleaned either fresh or frozen.  So making an artichoke dish for two is perfect - just enough work!

Ingredients:

2 large globe artichokes
1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped finely
2 tablespoons freshly chopped mint
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
fine sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
50 g unsalted butter

METHOD

First of all, prepare the artichokes, which at this time of the year should be soft and tender. Cut off the stem and pare away all the outer skin until it is very pale green, almost whitish. Cut it into thin slices and sprinkle with a little lemon juice to prevent it blackening. Now ruthlessly rip off all the outer leaves until you are left with a central core of tender leaves, very pale coloured at the bottom and dark green at the tip. Remove the hard tips of the leaves and rub all over with the lemon. Open out the artichoke enough to scrape away all the furry choke from the centre of both artichokes. Mix together the finely sliced stems, the garlic, mint, cheese and seasoning. Use this mixture to fill the cavity of both artichokes. Put the artichokes , top side up, into a saucepan small enough for them to fit snugly. Put a knob of butter in the pan and divide the rest of the butter between the artichokes, pushing it down into the centre on top of the garlic and mint mixture. Pour in a little cold water, enough to come about 2 cams. up the sides of the pan. Cover the pan tightly and place it over a medium heat. Depending upon how large or how fresh the artichokes are, it will take as little as ten to twelve minutes, or as much as half an hour to cook them until they are just tender and juicy all the way to the centre. Check by inserting a long thin knife right through the artichokes base and baste occasionally. Make sure there is plenty of liquid surrounding the artichokes if they need to cook further. You can serve them hot or cold and on their own, or with a simple grilled steak.

"Artichokes are not easily matched with wine, but we think this works with the Flametree Margaret River SBS '09. See what you think."

Baked stuffed mushrooms Funghi ripieni al forno Valentina Harris SERVES 4 Preparation 10 minutes Cooking 25 minutes

Choose the biggest mushrooms you can find in order to make this really easy because life is  still too busy to stuff individual, tiny mushrooms! Autumn in Italy heralds the start of the porcini season and you can find huge fresh ones for sale on virtually every vegetable stall, but any tasty mushroom with a good dense texture will also work very well in this recipe. You can of course vary the type of cheese you decide to use according to your own preferences. I like to serve this as a starter, with a few salad leaves.

4 very large mushrooms or 5 slightly smaller ones
4-5 tbsp ricotta
2 tbsp very soft Gorgonzola cheese
4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp soft white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp fresh, chopped flat-leaf parsley
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
fine sea salt and freshly milled black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4.
Wipe the mushrooms clean and remove the stalk. Chop the stalks up very small and put the chopped stalks into a bowl. Add the ricotta, Gorgonzola, half the Parmesan, the breadcrumbs and parsley. Use the resulting mixture to fill the mushrooms generously. Brush an ovenproof dish large enough for all the mushrooms to sit in flat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the filled mushrooms on the oiled surface. Drizzle the remaining oil around and over the mushrooms. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until soft and golden brown on top. Serve at once.

Enjoy with a glass of Kalgan River's Cabernet Sauvignon '07!