| 1 | To clean the artichokes, cut off the stems flush with the base, remove any tough, unsightly outer leaves and cut off the top one-third of the flower bud itself. |
| 2 | Force the leaves open a little, and rinse under cold water, with a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar to prevent discoloring. |
| 3 | Place the artichokes upside-down in a pot large enough to hold them all in one layer and pour in boiling water to come one-fourth of the way up the sides. |
| 4 | Salt and simmer 15-40 minutes, depending on their age and size - until the heart is just tender when pricked with a fork. |
| 5 | Drain and refresh them under cold water; drain again and chill. |
| 6 | Beat the tarama or smoked cod"s roe with the grated onion. |
| 7 | You can do this easily in a food processor. |
| 8 | Finely grate the zest of one lemon and beat in, with 2 teaspoons boiling water. |
| 9 | Squeeze the juice of both lemons. |
| 10 | Alternately dribble in lemon juice and olive oil, beating each addition in before adding the next, as though making mayonnaise - it may not need all the oil. |
| 11 | If you are doing this by hand, it take perseverence and elbow grease to make it nice and light. |
| 12 | Taste and season with pepper. |
| 13 | Open the artichokes and remove the inner, soft leaves and then the hairy choke. |
| 14 | Spoon tarama into the cup of leaves. |
