Jewish Fried Artichokes
Author & Photographer: Paige Resnick
When you are walking through the streets of the Jewish Ghetto in Rome, it is impossible not to pass an old man with white hair, probably wearing a fedora, trimming artichokes. He will be the epitome of an Italian nonno, expertly slicing the leaves, twirling the green globe around his knife with an ease that hides how difficult the task really is. From this man, and the many like him on these cobblestone streets, you will be given a crispy, creamy delicacy--a beautiful golden sunflower that warms your heart and stomach.
Sorry not sorry for romanticising this.
Carciofi alla Giudia is probably the best known dish of Roman-Jewish cuisine. Jews have lived in the Jewish Ghetto in Rome since the 1500’s, making it one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the world and bringing with it various culinary traditions. This dish is traditionally made with artichokes of the Romanesco variety, but since we aren’t in Rome, globe or baby artichokes will certainly make do. It is also traditional to use olive oil to fry the artichokes, imparting its nutty, fruity flavor, but if you don’t want to spend a crazy amount of money just for frying, canola or vegetable oil is just fine. The more neutral oils let the flavor of the artichoke shine.
I have to say, trimming these artichokes is not easy--especially if you aren’t trained in proper knife skills or if you haven’t spent decades on the streets of Rome doing this kind of thing (really sad that I fail in both of those categories). But if your knife is really sharp or if you use kitchen shears, I promise it will be easier. And have patience people. I totally destroyed one artichoke trying to do this because I got a little trigger happy and just pulled off all the leaves. Whoops.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4, as an appetizer
Ingredients:
3 lemons
2 large artichokes or 4 baby artichokes
1-2 pints oil of your choice (extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil)
Flaky sea salt, for serving
Instructions:
Squeeze the juice of two lemons into a medium bowl. Add about ½ cup of water. Set aside.
Working one artichoke at a time, rip off the dark, tough outer leaves of the artichoke until you get to the tender green center. Using a paring knife or a pair of kitchen shears (something very sharp!), cut off the top half of each of the remaining leaves. Trim the base and stem of the artichoke, removing the tough outer exterior. Your artichoke should kind of look like a rosebud at this point. When finished, place the trimmed artichoke in your lemon juice bath and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Continue with the remaining artichokes. For a nice visual tutorial for how to trim your artichokes the Roman-Jewish style, I found this video really helpful.
While your artichokes are bathing, heat your oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven to about 280ºF (you don’t want it to be too hot or the artichokes will fry too quickly and won’t get soft on the inside). When the oil is up to temperature, put the artichokes in the oil and fry, turning every minute or two, until the interior is tender, about 10 minutes (7 if using baby artichokes). Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Turn the oil temperature up to 350ºF. When the artichokes have drained and cooled slightly, add them back to the oil to crisp up for another 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
To serve, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and squeeze some juice from the remaining lemon. Everything, and I mean everything, that is fried must immediately get its proper topping of flakey sea salt and lemon juice. This is an order. Eat her while she’s hot!