Instructions: Put the olive oil and garlic into a fairly hot thick bottomed casseroletype pan. Allow to soften but not to colour.

Add small strips of lemon zest which should have no white pith to the garlic and stir.

Then add your quartered or halved artichokes and toss around again with a pinch of salt. (Alt this time you should be cooking on a semigentle heat just so that your ingredients are sizzling away but not burning or colouring.)

Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and allow it to cook for about 3 minutes until all the moisture from the pan has evapourated.

Add the wine place a lid on top and allow the artichokes to simmer for about 10 minutes or until tender.

Remove from the heat and correct the seasoning.

Add the fresh basil and the knob of butter and swirl around.

Put the lid back on and allow to sit for 1 minute to let the fragrance of the basil permeate the artichokes.

Serve straight away as an accompaniment for plainly cooked fish or white meats or as an antipasto.

This is a lovely way to eat artichokes and certainly a good one to try if you are cooking them for the first time.

Serves 4

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