Serves 4

- 4 baby artichokes
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
- 3¹/₃ cups cardoons, tender heart only
- 1 apple, peeled and cored
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- 2 cups fresh anchovies or small sardines, cleaned

For the pastella:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 5 ounces water
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2½ teaspoons fresh yeast or 1¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

Peel the tough outer leaves from the artichokes, stopping when you reach the tender leaves, then cut in quarters vertically. With large artichokes, you need to cut out the hairy choke, but with baby ones, the choke will not have developed properly, so there is not much to remove. Put them into a bowl of water with a little lemon juice squeezed into it, to keep them from discoloring until you are ready to use them. Drain and dry.

Bring a pan of water to a boil and add the salt. Put in the cauliflower and cook for a couple of minutes, until just tender, then lift out and drain. Put the cardoons into the same water and cook for about 7–8 minutes, until they too are just tender, but still retain some bite. Drain and keep to one side.

Combine the flour, water, egg and yeast to make a pastella (batter) with a fluid consistency. Slice the apple, and cut the cardoons into strips. Heat several inches of oil in a high-sided pan (make sure it comes no higher than a third of the way up the pan) to 350°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, put in a few bread crumbs, and if they sizzle the oil is ready.

Immerse the artichokes in the pastellaand deep-fry until golden. Lift out and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the cardoons, cauliflower and apple, then the anchovies or sardine fillets, and arrange everything together on a warm serving plate.