Artichoke bread pudding focaccia

Prepare a large bowl of cold water and squeeze one lemon in it. Add the squeezed lemon inside the bowl. Now you can clean the artichokes: snap off the dark green hard outer leaves until only the pale and tender inner leaves remain. Cut off the spiky top of the artichoke. Keep a few centimeters of the stem and trim any dark parts around the bottom. Rub each artichoke with the squeezed lemon and drop them into the lemon water to prevent them from darkening.
Warm a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil with a clove of fresh garlic in a large pan on medium heat, add the finely trimmed artichokes and stir with a wooden spoon to cover them with olive oil. Pour the warm water and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the artichokes are tender.
In the meanwhile break the bread in pieces and soak it in cold water for a few minutes.
When the artichokes are ready pour them into a big bowl, add the perfectly squeezed bread, the eggs previously beaten, the grated Parmigiano, the chopped parsley and fresh mint and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add a glug of extra virgin olive oil and mix thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on the bottom of a baking tray (I used a nonstick 39x27cm / 10 ½ x 15 ½ / 10 cups baking tray) and scrape the bread and the artichokes inside. Press it gently with a fork and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.
Bake for about 55 minutes, until golden on top. Serve warm or cold.