Roman Style Fried Artichokes With Herb Mayonnaise 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 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 ARTICHOKES WITH HERB MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Place the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper into the bowl of a small food processor. With the motor running, slowly pour the oil through the funnel.
• Blitz until everything comes together and you have a thick mayonnaise.
• Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor, you can make the mayonnaise using a large bowl and whisk (a hand-held blender with a whisk attachment would be even better!). Place the bowl on a damp cloth to stop it from moving around. Whisk together the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. With one hand quickly whisking the ingredients together, use the other hand to slowly add the oil in a steady stream, stopping as necessary. Keep whisking until all of the oil has been incorporated and the mixture has emulsified into a thick mayonnaise.
• Taste for seasoning. You may wish to add a squirt of lemon, and maybe some more salt and pepper.
• Scoop the mayonnaise into a serving bowl, and stir through the chopped herbs.
• Fill a large bowl with cold water. Quarter the lemon and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Place the squeezed lemons in the water as well.
• Take a baby artichoke and remove some of the tough outer leaves and trim the base.
• Using a very sharp knife, slice off the tip of the artichoke (about 1/3 of the artichoke).
• Cut the artichoke in half, and remove the choke (fuzzy centre) if necessary. Generally, really small artichokes do not have any fuzzy chokes.
• Place the prepared the artichoke immediately into the bowl of water to stop it from discolouring.
• Repeat the above process with the remaining artichokes.
• Heat enough oil in a medium-sized saucepan for deep-frying (about 5cm or 2 inch depth) to 120°C (250°F).
• Meanwhile, drain the artichokes with kitchen paper, making sure they are completely dry.
• Cook the artichokes in batches for about 5 minutes until they are just beginning to brown. Remove them to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.
• Increase the heat to 190°C (375°F).
• Again, cook the artichokes in batches for 1-2 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy.
• Drain them on a plate lined with kitchen paper, sprinkle with sea salt, and serve immediately.

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.

BOILED WHOLE ARTICHOKES WITH MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil - large enough to submerge all four artichokes. Once the water is boiling, season it with salt to taste. Slice off the domed top quarter of the artichokes, remove the black tip of the stem and immediately place the artichokes in the boiling water. To cook the artichokes evenly and prevent them from bobbing at the surface, place a lid one size smaller than the pot you are using directly on top of the artichokes, weighing them down so they are submerged. Reduce the heat until the water is at a hard simmer, and cook the artichokes until you can easily pierce the bottom choke (where the stem meets the base) with a cake tester or the sharp tip of a thin knife with no resistance, 20 to 25 minutes.
• While artichokes cook, prepare the mayonnaise: Place the egg, egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice and two healthy pinches of salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Whiz for 5 seconds, then, with the machine on, slowly add about half the neutral oil in a thin, steady stream. Turn the machine off, and add 1 tablespoon cold water. Turn the machine back on, and finish adding the neutral oil in a steady stream. If mayonnaise is thick, blend in the remaining 1 tablespoon cold water. Mayonnaise should be light, satiny and silken. Taste the mayonnaise, and add salt as needed. Set aside at room temperature.
• Transfer the cooked artichokes to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, positioning them upside down to drain. Let stand at room temperature until they are cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Then remove the stems in an even cut, leaving the artichokes with a flat base. Peel the fibrous outer layer (and any strings) off the stems, cut the stems into 1/4-inch coins and reserve.
• Place the artichokes, stem side down, on a clean work surface. Gently open up the artichokes to reveal the inner leaves, using your fingers a little like the way you might open your own eye to receive drops, or even resembling the gesture you use to enlarge an image on your iPhone screen. Then pinch the whole purple and spiky choke at the center in one handful, and pluck it out, revealing the fuzzy hair that sits firmly attached in the cup of the heart. Remove this fuzz with your fingertip, or use a small spoon to scrape it away, taking care not to gouge or dig too deep into the goose-pimpled flesh.
• To assemble, place a healthy dollop of mayonnaise in the very center of each artichoke. Spoon in a few of the stem coins, then drizzle artichoke and mayonnaise with olive oil. Serve with additional mayonnaise and lemon wedges. (Any leftover mayonnaise will keep, refrigerated, up to 1 week.)