Artichokes and anchovies

Many people are intimidated by artichokes. I sort of understand it, in the same way that I sort of understand being intimidated by lobster: "You want me to eat what? Just look at it! That's not edible!" But just like the succulent lobster, the artichoke rewards the brave and patient. Peel away the spiny leaves and scrape the undersides with your teeth. Then bite off the bottoms of the tender inner leaves. Then slice off the fuzzy "choke." Only after all that can you gobble down the heart -- or, better yet, nibble at it. You don't eat an artichoke in a hurry.

You can, however, prepare one in a hurry, should you so desire, and why on earth wouldn't you? Get your nice big globe artichoke. Whack the stem off flush with the base. Cut the top inch off, too. Turn it upside down on a square of plastic wrap (or cling film, if you're a Brit), swaddle it tightly like a squirmy baby, and upend it on the seam so it stays wrapped. Put it on a plate and pop it in the microwave for 6 or 7 minutes, depending on how big it is and how powerful your microwave is. Let it sit for another minute, unwrap it, and start plucking off those tasty leaves. Watch out for the prickly bits!

And speaking of prickly things: Anchovies used to be on my list of things I avoided. No, they weren't on the short list of gag-inducing foods, but...tiny salty fish with seemingly more bone than flesh? Why bother? Then I discovered pasta puttanesca, for which the anchovy is a necessary component. You still won't find me putting them on my pizza, just because I feel strongly that fish and pizza don't mix. You don't put tuna on your pizza, do you? Do you? Well, maybe if you're in Japan, you do. They put just about anything on crust in Japan and call it a pizza. They put mayo and sunny-side-up eggs on pizza there, and dear lord, I cannot think of anything more repulsive than that.

But with tomatoes and olives and capers and red pepper flakes and oregano and lots of olive oil and garlic, anchovies are a fine, fine thing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go make some penne.