Roman-Style Artichokes

Name: Roman-Style Artichokes
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 artichokes (not too small); 1/2 bunch parsley; 15-20 mint leaves; 3 cloves garlic; 70 ml olive oil; 50 ml dry white wine (optional); 1 lemon; salt, black pepper

February 7, 2013

Appetizers Fasting Recipes Italian Vegetables Vegetable Dishes

I've been wanting to prepare this traditional Roman recipe for so long... and finally I found fresh artichokes at Metro and got to work. The recipe is simple, but eating and cleaning them is more intricate. For this, beginners really need a user manual 😉 And since no words or photos can match a video, I've prepared 2 great videos on this topic that I recommend watching before you start cooking. The first one is about how to clean and eat artichokes and the second is the complete carciofi alla romana recipe prepared by an Italian nonna.

Ingredients

4 artichokes (not too small)
1/2 bunch parsley
15-20 mint leaves
3 cloves garlic
70 ml olive oil
50 ml dry white wine (optional)
1 lemon
salt, black pepper

How to prepare roman-style artichokes

Rub your hands with a slice of lemon. Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl of cold water. Clean the artichokes following the instructions here for the whole piece (from minute 2:00 to minute 3:53). Place the cleaned artichokes in the bowl with lemon water to prevent oxidation.
Finely chop the parsley with the mint. Add the crushed garlic. Season with salt and black pepper and add 50 ml of oil. Mix well.
Take each artichoke, insert the herb mixture in the center, then between the leaves, and finally brush the exterior as well. Place them in a small pot with the stems facing up.
Sprinkle the artichokes with salt and pepper. Add the remaining oil along with the wine to the pot. Also add any remaining herbs if you have some left. Fill with water that reaches almost halfway up the artichoke heads.
Cover the artichokes with wet parchment paper. Put the lid on the pot.
Bring the contents to a boil, then simmer for 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the artichokes. Mine weren't very large, so 25 minutes were enough.
They're good warm or cold. Serve as an appetizer, drizzled with just a little of the cooking liquid and some lemon juice. Artichokes can be eaten by hand even in a restaurant. If you didn't remove the fuzzy choke in the center at the beginning, it can be removed during the meal when you reach it (the video here, from minute 5:00 to minute 5:50).