Artichokes are tricky to prepare. So here’s a cheat’s way of serving them with razor clams

It’s a curious thing to think of Ireland without olive oil, but there was a time, not too long ago, when we never considered frying with anything other than butter or some other animal fat. While we may decry the absence of chicken and beef fat in our diet (try frying a cauliflower in chicken fat), I don’t think I could live without olive oil.

Though Don Carlos began bringing olive oil commercially to Ireland in the late 1970s, Irish cookbooks written from the 1950s onwards, by authors such as Monica Sheridan, Maura Laverty and Theodora Fitzgibbon, include recipes that use it as an ingredient. Whether these fine woman had access to a secret stash of olive oil, or merely travelled often to the Continent, I do not know. My father, growing up at the same time in Dublin as these ladies were writing, relayed to me that the only place you could buy olive oil was the pharmacy and it was for removing wax from blocked ears.

Was it de Valera’s trade war with the British or simply Ireland’s isolation that created a difficulty in procuring olive oil? Whatever the reasons, we now can happily cook with olive oil until the cows come home.

How to make artichokes with razor clams

Globe artichokes are difficult things to prepare and need time and patience to free the heart from that prickly outer core. The Spanish excel in preserving them in jars in olive oil. Luckily, I found some good ones in Dunnes Stores recently. While they won’t allow you to wax lyrical about how you went about preparing them, the flavour will do the talking for you. Artichokes hearts go well with Irish farmhouse cheese and charcuterie. They also go well with fish and shellfish, either poached, steamed or pickled. Razor clams are back in season after their summer break. Simply steam the clams in a little white wine or water until they open. Roughly chop the artichoke hearts and dress with a little of their own olive oil, plus chopped parsley and lemon juice. Spoon over the razor clams and serve.