Insalata di Carciofi Crudi

This is not a salad you can make in January. It is not a salad you can make with the large globe artichokes that sit in American supermarkets year-round. This is a spring dish, a celebration of the tender young artichokes that appear in Roman markets from February through April, when the carciofi romaneschi are so young and sweet that cooking them would be an insult.

Americans overcook artichokes. They boil them for forty minutes, then scrape the flesh from tough outer leaves with their teeth. This is one way to eat an artichoke, but it is not the only way, and it is certainly not the most refined. When the artichoke is young enough, tender enough, fresh enough, you eat it raw. The flavor is grassy and bright, with a pleasant bitterness that the lemon tames and the Parmigiano balances.

The technique is simple but demands attention. You must work quickly, because cut artichokes oxidize within minutes. You must shave them thin, because thick slices are fibrous and unpleasant. You must use your best olive oil, because there is nowhere to hide. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. There is no cooking to develop flavor, no sauce to distract. Only the artichoke, expressing itself.