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1
Stir the lemon juice into a bowl with a quart of cold water.
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2
The acidulated water will keep the artichoke slices from discoloring after you cut them.
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3
Work with one artichoke at a time: Trim off the thick outside leaves, until you reach the tender, pale inside leaves.
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4
Cut off the tough bottom of the stem, but leave most of it (an inch or so) attached to the globe.
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5
With a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel off the outer skin of the short stem, exposing the fresh layer underneath.
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6
Next, cut straight across the pointed top of the artichoke, removing the tips of the leaves and the darker, coarser top part, retaining only the pale green lower two-thirds.
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7
Drop the trimmed artichoke into the acidulated water.
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8
Trim he rest of them in this way, submerging them all in the bowl.
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9
To prepare the celery, trim off the wide end of the celery stalks and pick off any coarse outer leaves, reserving only the tender, pale leaves.
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10
Peel the stalks if theyre dark, tough, or blemished.
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11
Slice each one on the diagonal, 1/8 inch thick, into delicate, translucent crescents.
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12
Chop the tender leaves, and put all the celeryabout 2 cupsin a large mixing bowl.
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13
When youre ready to serve the salad, remove a trimmed artichoke from the lemon water and cut, from stem to top, in 1/8-inch slices; add them to the bowl.
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14
Quickly slice all the artichokes this way, and toss the celery and artichoke slices together with the lemon juice, the olive oil, and the salt.
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15
With a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, shave about two dozen delicate large flakes of Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano from the chunk of cheese; each shaving should be a couple of inches long and 1 or 2 inches wide.
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16
Fold the shavings of cheese gently into the sliced vegetables.
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17
Taste, and adjust dressing.
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18
Arrange the salad on a serving platter, or portion on salad plates.
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19
Shave more flakes of cheese, and scatter a dozen or more over the platter, or place three or four on top of each individual serving.
