Globe Artichoke and Pink Grapefruit Salad (Jamie Oliver recipe): Friday Challenge!

I’ve seen ALOT of recipes pairing artichokes with citrus fruits but I chose this one because it used grapefruit instead of lemons, which I think is really different and abit more exotic. I have never been a fan of the grapefruit it’s so sharp and tangy but I thought the artichoke and salad leaves all together would tone it down. This recipe is from Jamie’s book “Happy Days with the Naked Chef” which you can buy here.

There were a few changes I had to make to the recipe, not because I disagreed with Jamie (I always try and stick as closely to the recipe as possible because at the end of the day I am doing this to learn) but because I just couldn’t find the ingredients or I couldn’t justify buying the ingredient. I omitted the Pecorino cheese shavings and feel a little sad about this because it would have added a whole other dimension to the salad, but I’m feeling the pinch this month so a block of cheese just for one recipe was out of the question. Also I could not find Frisee salad anywhere so I bought watercress and spinach leaves as I am using these for another recipe too. And finally I already had a bag of raw almonds which had the skin on them unlike the ones in Jamie’s recipe – but I decided these would be fine to use. I also added some seeds which needed using up!

As you can see Jamie’s is slightly lighter and fresher looking than mine due to the different salad base however I particuarly liked the watercress with mine. The peppery flavour really complimented the honey dressing, grapefruit and artichokes. The salad has a dressing made from lemon juice, honey, olive oil and black pepper which just bought the salad alive it was so delicious.

When I had a mouthful of just artichoke and grapefruit I was unsure that this salad worked, but when I added the dressing and watercress to the equation it was simply gorgeous and very satisfying. I liked the nuts it made it more substantial and this would make for a perfect appetiser or light lunch on a summers day.

What I have learnt about Globe Artichokes:
The artichoke is very happy when matched with citrus fruits, it brings it alive and helps tone down the tang of the fruits. The artichoke is perfect in a salad, its fresh and light and as long as it is not over whelmed it can help heighten a salad. Theres just a fine balance between bringing out it’s best and losing it behind the other strong flavours. Also I used canned artichoke and I think this is perfectly acceptable because it meant this salad took me 5 minutes to throw together!