Pickled artichoke hearts and fennel seeds

• By Frances Bissell

This recipe is based on the delicious pickles my friend Mary Grace Attard makes in Gozo. Serve them, as she does, as part of an antipasto or meze, with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, shallots pickled in balsamic vinegar, and a selection of cured meats and fish. This recipe is for a litre.

You will need:

A kilo of very young and small artichokes, 250g of salt, a litre of water, 500ml of white-wine vinegar, 250ml of white wine, two tablespoonfuls of fennel seeds, 150g of sugar, a tablespoonful of white peppercorns, 75ml of olive oil.

Artichokes discolour quickly when their cut surfaces are exposed to the air, so have a bowl of water with a generous splash of lemon juice to hand, into which you can drop each artichoke as you prepare it. Remove and discard the bracts and put the hearts into the acidulated water. When all are prepared, drain them and put them in a bowl. Mix the salt and water, pour this over the artichokes, cover the bowl loosely with a clean dishcloth, and leave it to stand for 24 hours. Meanwhile boil the vinegar, wine, fennel seeds, peppercorns and sugar together and put this mixture to one side. Rinse the artichokes and put them in a non-reactive saucepan with the sweet spiced vinegar. Bring this to the boil and let it bubble for a couple of minutes until the artichoke hearts are just softening, but not cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat. Pack the artichoke hearts into hot sterilised preserving-jars, with non-reactive lids. Shake the jars to ensure that there are no air bubbles, topping them up with vinegar if necessary. Make sure the artichoke hearts are fully submerged in the liquid. Pour a layer of olive oil on top. Seal and label the jars. Try to keep them for a month before using them.