Artichoke, Bread and Tomato Dip

This recipe can be extended to make a soup or pasta sauce simply with the addition of vegetable or chicken-style stock, if you have no cause for a dip. Artichokes may seem like a fancy ingredient, but they are available cheaply from the supermarket stored in oil, usually sliced. I reserve the oil and use it here, or as a salad dressing, or for toasting rice in risotto – it is full of flavour.