Shrimp and Peas in Artichoke Hearts Recipe

#The convenience of using frozen artichoke hearts, frozen peas and frozen tiny baby shrimp speed up the preparation process of this dish. Needless to say fresh spring artichokes taste ever so great and are worth all the effort if you are willing to trim them. I think peeling artichokes and shelling shrimp are tasks one can chose to avoid. This dish is served chilled and is yummy on a warm summer day served with a glass of chilled white wine or cold beer.# Bring the water to the boil. Add the lemon juice, salt and sugar. Drop in the frozen artichoke hearts and cook until the artichokes are soft when poked with a knife.

This will not take very long, 10 minutes or so, depending on the size of the artichokes. Remove artichoke hearts with a slotted spoon and refresh them in cold water to stop the cooking.

Save some of the cooking liquid. Meanwhile mix the peas and shrimp in a bowl and add the mayonnaise. If the mixture too thick to pile on artichoke hearts then add one or more spoonfuls of the reserved artichoke water.

Stir in the dill. If you wish you may add 1-2 tablespoons capers at this stage of preparation. Taste and then season with salt and pepper. Chill artichoke hearts and peas and shrimp mixture separately.

Just before serving place artichoke hearts on a flat serving platter covered with finely shredded lettuce leaves. Fill the hearts with the peas and shrimp mixture. Decorate with dill sprigs and lemon slices.

Have a basket of freshly baked bread ready at the table.