-> i eat them raw like many other peoples around the mediterranee and used
>to eat
>> them cooked >>
>
>How would you prepare it if you were to eat it raw?


I eat them as someone would eat  a steamed or boiled artichoke : removing
one leaf at a time and "peeling " the meat off the fiber with my lower front
teeth .toward the center when the leaves become tender i pulled them out
together and bite in the lower part of the leaves.
I eat the heart after cutting it in quarter and cutting away the hairs, I
also eat the stem .

It is more tough than cooked  and might feel overwhelming to somebody used
to eat mashed up  foods.
When i first started to eat raw my jaws were hurting and getting tired to
have to chew, now i am well trained.
jean-claude