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.

JEWISH FRIED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Squeeze two lemons into the bowl of water, stir, then throw in the squeezed lemon halves. This lemon water will keep your artichokes fresh and green till you're ready to fry them. Keep a couple of fresh lemon halves on hand as you prep. Rinse your artichokes under cold water. Pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. With kitchen shears or sharp scissors, remove the thorny tips from the leaves. For each artichoke, remove the bitter, fibrous end of the stem with your knife, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of stem attached to the artichoke.
• Use a serrated peeler or paring knife to peel the outer skin from the remaining stem. The stem has a more bitter taste than the rest of the artichoke; removing the skin helps to take away some of the bitterness. Rub the peeled stem with fresh lemon to keep it from browning.
• Peel off 5-6 layers of external leaves from the artichoke, snapping off the leaves and setting them aside, till you reach an inner layer of leaves that are fresh looking and white at the base.
• With a serrated knife or sharp chef's knife, slice the artichoke horizontally about ¾ inch above the base (heart) to remove the pointy top of the artichoke, leaving a flat crown of leaves on the base of the artichoke while exposing the inner purple leaves.
• Slice the artichoke in half lengthwise, splitting the stem and heart in half vertically to reveal the inner fuzzy choke.
• Scoop out the fuzzy spines and purple leaves from each artichoke half with a melon baller, leaving behind two hollowed out halves of heart, each with a small crown of flat leaves.
• You may wish to place the artichoke halves under cold running water to remove any stubborn bits of fuzzy choke.Rub the heart with lemon, then place it in the bowl of lemon water. Repeat process with the other remaining artichokes.
• When ready to cook, remove the artichoke halves from the lemon water. Pour the lemon water and juiced lemon halves into a large pot; you will need about 1 ½ inches of water, so if you don't have enough, add more water to top it off. Place a steamer basket inside the pot and bring water to a boil. Place the cleaned artichoke halves into the steamer basket and cover the pot with a lid. Reduce heat to medium.
• Let the artichokes steam for 15-20 minutes till a knife or fork can be inserted easily into the thickest part of the stem. You want the artichokes to be lightly steamed and a bit tender, but still firm-they should only be partially cooked.
• Place the steamed artichoke halves onto a layer of paper towels and let them drain. Heat 1 inch of olive oil to around 375 degrees F, hot enough for frying but not so hot that it smokes. While oil is heating, sprinkle the artichoke halves with salt and pepper, making sure to sprinkle inside the layers of leaves as well.
• Place the artichokes gently into the heated oil and let them fry for about 15 minutes, using a pair of tongs to turn them once halfway through cooking, till artichokes are golden brown and the leaves are crisp.
• Remove from the oil and let them drain on paper towels or a wire rack. Serve fried artichokes warm with fresh sliced 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 DEEP-FRIED ARTICHOKES (CARCIOFI ALLA GIUDIA)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Starting with one artichoke, begin trimming the leaves away from the base, removing the darker tough exterior and leaving the more tender inner portion. As you work your way up the artichoke, you'll have to trim away progressively less of each ring of leaves. When you reach a little past the halfway point of the artichoke, where the leaves begin to slope in, make a horizontal cut to remove the top quarter or so of the artichoke. Next, cut into the top of the artichoke, keeping your knife almost vertical, to remove any spines there may be in the smaller leaves towards the heart of the flower.
• Next, trim away the tip of the stem, which will likely be black-you will see a ring in the middle of the cut surface. The outer layer of an artichoke stem, beyond the ring, is tough and fibrous. What is inside, however, is an extension of the heart: both tender and tasty. Carefully peel or cut away the fibrous outer layer, rub the artichoke with a cut, partially squeezed lemon to keep it from blackening, put it in a bowl of water with the juice of one lemon, and then trim the next artichoke. Continue until you have prepared all your artichokes .
• Come time to cook your artichokes, heat 3 inches (8 centimeters) of olive oil, or an oil with a high smoke point if you prefer, in a fairly deep, fairly broad pot (one large enough to contain the artichokes flat, and the oil should almost cover them).
• While it is heating, stand your artichokes on absorbent paper to drain, and prepare a bowl with fine sea salt and pepper. Season the artichokes inside and out with salt and pepper and shake off the excess.
• Slip your artichokes into the hot oil and cook them for about 10 minutes, turning them in the oil so they cook evenly. Remove them to a plate lined with absorbent paper-at this point, they're partially cooked, and you could, if you want, resume cooking them later. Assuming you want to enjoy them now, however, reheat your oil-it should be hotter now, because this is the frying stage-before they were simply being cooked in the hot oil and slip the first artichoke in, initially horizontally.
• Fry the artichoke for 3 to 4 minutes, until the stem is browned and then use a pair of long-handled implements, such as BBQ forks or a pair of metal kitchen tongs, to upend the artichoke-it should be stem-up with its top on the bottom of the pot. Press down gently; the leaves will brown thanks to the heat of the bottom of the pan, and the artichoke will open like a flower.
• While the artichoke is browning, line a second plate with absorbent paper. Put the first artichoke to drain blossom down, and continue with the next. Continue until you have finished frying your artichokes.
• Serve immediately, with lemon wedges.

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.