HEART AND SOUL

Not a vegetable but rather a flower bud that rises on a thistle, the artichoke is a complex delight. Its rewards are hard won; first you must get past the armour of petals and remove the hairy choke. Those who step up are rewarded with sweet and savoury creaminess and the elusive flavour of spring. Many of the recipes here begin with the same Provençal braise. Others call on the nuttiness of artichokes in their raw form. The results make pasta lighter and chicken brighter or can be fried to become a vessel for bold flavours all of which capture the levity of the season.

- MAXWELL ADEY

Spring herb linguine with artichoke and macadamia

SERVES 4 // PREP 45 MINS // COOK 5 MINS

1 For herb pasta dough, blanch herbs until bright green (10 seconds); drain, refresh in iced water; drain again and squeeze out all excess water. Blend herbs and eggs in a blender until a smooth paste forms. Place flour, semolina and 1 tsp sea salt flakes in a food processor; add herb paste and process until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a work surface dusted with semolina. Knead until smooth (adding a little extra semolina if the dough is a little sticky), then wrap in plastic wrap and stand at room temperature for 1 hour to rest.

2 Meanwhile, combine butter, garlic, citrus zest and juice in a bowl; season to taste and set aside.

3 Divide dough into 4, then, working with one piece at a time, lightly flour and feed dough through a pasta machine starting with rollers at the widest setting. Fold dough in half lengthways, feed through rollers again, repeating until smooth. Continue to feed dough through, reducing notch by notch, feeding and rolling until third-last setting. Lightly dust with flour, halve pasta sheet to shorten and pass through the 4mm-wide cutter attachment (or dust each pasta sheet with semolina, roll into a cylinder and thinly slice to make linguine strips). Lightly dust with semolina and lay out flat on trays. Repeat with remaining pasta dough.

4 Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (2-3 minutes), adding peas in the last minute. Drain; reserving 165ml (2/3 cup) pasta water.