Place a pot with the water on to boil with the salt.

Artichokes discolor almost as soon as they see you with the knife in your hand. So immediately after each cut rub them with some lemon to stop them from turning black.

Cut off the stems as close to the bottoms as you can and pull off any dying or discolored leaves. Firmly holding the artichoke on its side cut the top 1/3 of the artichoke off. You will need a very sharp knife for this a good bit of muscle.

Place each artichoke on a slice of lemon and tie it to the artichoke (see the photo above.)

Place them in the boiling water and simmer for about 40 minutes, check it with the tip of a sharp knife at its stem after 30 minutes. If the knife goes in easily it should be cooked.

When cooked remove them from the pot pour out the water and fill it with clean cold water and throw the artichoke back in to stop their cooking and to cool them as quickly as possible.

After about 20 minutes they should be cool enough to handle. Remove the string and discard the lemon slices.

Holding over the sink upside down wrap your hands around them and give them a gentle squeeze to get out all the water that you can.

On a cutting board cut them in half and then in half again.

With your fingers or a small spoon pull out the choke that is sitting on the top of the artichoke heart leaving as many of the inner leaves as possible.

Place the artichokes on a dish lined with a double layer of paper towel to drain, cover and place in the fridge to get cold if you are going to serve them chilled.

Divide the cut artichokes between 4 dishes and dress with the Tomato Sherry Vinegar Vinaigrette.