CELERY, ARTICHOKE, AND MORTADELLA SALAD

Celery, Artichoke, and Mortadella Salad image

In creating this recipe, I added the mortadella on the spur of the moment. I love raw artichoke salad, but have often prepared this salad with many other, different ingredients, such as raw mushrooms, or shavings of Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. Recently I made a beautiful salad of small artichokes, crunchy celery, and some great imported mortadella, which I happened to have on hand. And so this salad was born: it certainly is based on tradition, but with my own touch. It has now become a family favorite for buffets, antipasto, or just for lunch.

Yield serves 4 to 6

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

8 baby artichokes (about 1 pound)
Juice of 2 lemons
4 inner stalks celery, with leaves, thinly sliced on the bias
4-ounce chunk Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6-ounce piece mortadella, cut into matchsticks

Steps:

Clean and prepare the artichokes as illustrated (see sidebar). Drain the artichoke slices from the water and set into a mixing bowl and toss with the juice of the remaining lemon.
Add the celery to the mixing bowl. On the coarse holes of a box grater, grate most of the cheese into the bowl, reserving a small piece for garnish. Drizzle the ingredients in the mixing bowl with the olive oil and season with salt. Toss well.
Now add the mortadella, and toss gently. Arrange the salad on a serving plate, grate the remaining cheese over the top, and serve.
To clean eight baby artichokes and prevent them from oxidizing, fill a bowl with approximately one quart of cold water, and add the juice of one lemon, plus the squeezed-out lemon halves.
Peel and trim the stem of the first artichoke. Pull off any tough outer leaves and discard. Using a paring knife, trim away any tough parts around the base and stem of the artichoke. With a serrated knife, cut off the top third of the artichoke and discard.
If the recipe calls for sliced artichoke, halve the artichoke and slice very thin lengthwise (through the stem, either by hand or on a mandoline) or crosswise. Repeat this process with each of the remaining artichokes. As you finish with each artichoke, add it to the bowl of cold water and lemon juice, to keep it fresh.
If you are stuffing the artichokes: Once you have cut off the top third with a serrated knife, push the leaves out to expose the fuzzy purple choke. With a small spoon, scrape out the choke to expose the heart at the bottom of the artichoke. Put the prepared artichoke in the bowl of water and lemon juice to keep it fresh.