We’ve been having quite a spring in Rome, eating our little hearts out. And here’s the thing: we don’t even really like artichokes that much. Or, rather, we’d never make them ourselves. They are FAR too much work. And – while we do believe that cooking your own food often makes you appreciate it more, we’ve wrestled with the spiny bits of artichokes enough to leave this one to the professionals. The ones in jars or cans are ok, providing a vague sense of what artichokes might be like if you were ever to encounter the real thing; we used to put them on salads and sometimes in pasta. But we probably won’t ever buy them again, now that we’ve seen the light. Here in Rome, in the spring, they are an entirely different species. We find them unspeakably delicious, and order them every time they are on the menu. And that is nearly every time we go to a restaurant.
Carciofi alla Romana
Italian artichokes, carciofi, are ‘globe’ artichokes, which are also the ones you see most often in other countries. The classic Roman way to cook them is to steam them in (an enormous amount of) olive oil, with garlic, mint, parsley, and lemon. Some people insert breadcrumbs but they aren’t necessary. We like them best with the stems on, because the stems have a slightly different taste. Sometimes they come out a little soft, as in the picture on the left, and sometimes they are still slightly crunchy. Both good, but we like the crunchiness. Romans serve these as a side dish or appetizer, and they need not a thing else to be utterly perfect.
Artichokes alla Giudia
Except maybe one thing: we all know that the only way to improve on something amazing is to fry it. The Jews of Rome, poor and confined to the ghetto for centuries, took to frying their food. And they gave the world fried artichokes, which are among the most delicious things imaginable. Also attractive: they are pressed down, stem-up, in the pan to give them a distinctive ‘flower’ shape.
This is one of those dishes we are likely never to make for ourselves. So we’ll keep eating it in restaurants, until it disappears for the summer! Indeed, we’ve come to love the artichoke so much that we are even enjoying in some non-traditional ways, like on pizza. Where it is also splendid.
