Artichauts à la Barigoule or Artichoke Hearts Stewed in Olive Oil is a typical Provençal dish and this recipe comes from Vero’s Aunt Lilian, who would buy her veggies from the local market in “Bormes-les-Mimosas,” the most beautiful small Provençal village in the south of France. Drink an ice cold dry Rosé wine with this dish…yum.

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced, plus 4 thin slices
4 medium sized artichokes
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 button mushrooms
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 small carrots, cut into 3″ pieces
1/2  a cup  of white wine
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup smokey lardons
1/4 tsp. cracked coriander seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 olives, pitted and halved
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/8 tsp. paprika or piment d’Espelette

Combine lemon juice and 6 cups water in a large bowl. Working with one artichoke at a time, use a serrated knife, and cut off leaves by making a crosswise cut about 1 1/2″ from where the stem meets the base; discard leaves. Cut away the tough outer leaves remaining on the base until you reach the inner yellow leaves. Using a peeler, remove green outer layer from the stem and base. Trim off bottom 1?2″ of stem. Use a spoon to scoop out fuzzy choke from center of artichoke. Halve the trimmed artichoke and  transfer to the lemon water.

Your trimmed artichoke should look like a lollypop. Split the “lollypop” in half length ways .
Drain artichokes. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add artichokes cut side down, along with mushrooms, garlic, lardons and carrots. Cook, stirring, until brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add lemon slices, wine, butter, and coriander and bring to the boil. Reduce wine by half, 3–4 minutes. Add enough water to just cover vegetables, again bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until vegetables are tender, 12 to15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and taste. Using tongs, transfer artichokes, carrots, and mushrooms to a bowl. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce 8 to 10 minutes, and then return everything to the pan and heat through. Garnish with lemon zest, parsley, and paprika. You are a chef!