Roman Jewish Style Fried Artichokes Recipes

ROMAN-JEWISH STYLE FRIED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Pare artichoke bases flat, and remove tough outer leaves, leaving pale-green edible ones. Trim tops off. Rub cut surfaces with lemon half. Work quickly; do not soak in water.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil and garlic in saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown artichokes cooking on all sides 2 to 3 minutes. If garlic gets too brown, discard. Stand artichokes on bottoms; cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until tender.
• Leave pan with oil on stove; transfer artichokes to paper towel to drain upside down until slightly cool. Spread leaves like a flower (scrape out fuzzy choke with melon baller).
• Season artichokes with salt and pepper; add 3 tablespoons oil to pan; when hot, add enough artichokes to fit comfortably without overlapping, bases facing up. Cook over medium-high heat, pressing leaves down, until brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Keep warm while cooking second batch. Blot well.
• Salt lightly, and serve hot with shaved Parmesan and lemon wedges.

ROMAN-JEWISH FRIED ARTICHOKES (CARCIOFI ALLA GIUDIA) RECIPE

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with water; halve and squeeze 2 lemons into it. Trim artichokes following Roman-Jewish artichoke guidelines shown here : Remove tough dark green outer leaves to expose more tender light-green leaves within, then, using a paring knife, cut off top half of each leaf and trim base and stem. Trimmed artichokes will look like a closed rosebud. Transfer the peeled artichokes to the bowl of lemon water as you work, covering them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them completely submerged.
• In a large saucepan, heat 2 to 3 inches of oil to 280°F (130°C). Add artichokes (they should produce a steady but non-violent stream of bubbles) and cook until tender (you should be able to pierce their hearts easily with a fork), adjusting heat to maintain a steady bubble, about 10 minutes for baby artichokes and 15 minutes for larger ones. Turn larger artichokes frequently for even cooking.
• Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer artichokes to a paper towel-lined plate. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Using your hands, gently pull open each artichoke "bud" so that it resembles an open flower. If using large artichokes, remove and discard the hair "choke" in the center of the artichoke. Increase oil temperature to 350°F (177°C).
• Fry artichokes until browned and crisp, 2 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Season immediately with salt. Transfer to plates and serve right away with wedges of remaining lemon.

ROMAN JEWISH FRIED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Set aside a large bowl of water and squeeze the juice from two lemons in the bowl. Throw the lemons in too while you are at it. This will prevent our artichokes from browning as we prep them.
• Taking one at a time, pick off the darker spiky outer leaves until you are left with the pale green bulb. Then, slice the leaves in half where the bulb starts to turn in, leaving a spiral flower shape! Trim the fibrous pieces off of the stem too. put the artichoke in the water and continue with the other pieces.
• Now, time to fry. Heat up about 2 inches of oil to 275 degrees F. It doesn't have to be enough oil to cover the pieces as we will flip them while frying. Set aside a cooling rack over a towel. Fry the artichokes for about 10 minutes, flipping periodically, until a knife entered near the stem enters easily.
• Remove the artichokes and heat the oil up to 350 degrees F. When cool enough to handle, spread the leaves out to make them flower shaped. Pretty! If you are using larger artichokes, remove the choke at this point.
• Fry the artichokes for 3-4 more minutes until golden in color. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of salt, a squeeze of lemon and a dip in mayo!

ROMAN STYLE FRIED BABY ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large heavy nonreactive skillet over medium heat. Add the artichokes and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Weight the artichokes with a heavy nonreactive pan and cook for 2 minutes. Lower the heat and cook for 7 minutes more.
• Turn the artichokes over, add the remaining oil to the skillet and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Re-weight and continue cooking until artichokes are golden brown and tender, about 15 minutes.
• Place in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Refrigerate until cold and serve.

ROMAN-STYLE ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve lemon and squeeze juice into a large bowl of cold water; add squeezed lemon halves to bowl. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, peel tough outer leaves and trim 1 inch from top. Trim fibrous green skin from heart and stem. Halve each artichoke lengthwise, scrape fuzzy choke from heart with a spoon, and transfer to lemon water.
• Drain artichokes and place, cut side up, in a wide, shallow ovenproof pot. Pour wine, oil, and water over artichokes and sprinkle with salt, red-pepper flakes, garlic, and herbs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, transfer to oven, and braise until artichokes are tender, about 45 minutes. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with red-pepper flakes, and serve with pan juices.