Italian · Rome · appetizer

Carciofi alla Giudia

Carciofi alla Giudia reads sourness 8.2, citrus 8.2 and salinity 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Italian · Rome appetizer, about 56 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 8.2 · Citrus 8.2 · Salinity 4.5 · Richness 3.6 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Bitterness 1.7 · Sweetness 1.6 · Nutty 1.3 · Umami 1.1 · Herbaceous 1.0 · Heat 0.8

What's in it (8)

Time & effort: about 56 min (41 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 9.6 kcal, 0.5 g protein, 0.5 g fat, 0.8 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

  1. Use the right artichoke or do not make this dish. The Roman mammola is round, purple-tinged, has no choke worth speaking of and no fibrous inner leaves; a tight globe artichoke from a good greengrocer in spring is the nearest thing. Spiky, long-tapered varieties will never soften.
  2. Squeeze the lemons into the cold water and drop the spent halves in. Working one artichoke at a time, spiral a small sharp knife around the head from the base upwards, cutting away the dark tough outer part of every leaf and leaving the pale tender part behind, until the whole thing is a smooth cream-and-green cone. Peel the stalk down to its pale core. Drop it in the lemon water as you go or it will blacken in a minute.
  3. Drain and dry the artichokes completely, then bang each one crown-down on the worktop to open the leaves a little. Season inside the leaves with the fine salt and pepper.
  4. First fry, to cook: heat the oil to 130 C, which is gentle, and lower the artichokes in stalk-up. Fry 10 to 12 minutes, turning once, until a knife slides into the base with no resistance. They should be pale gold, not brown. Lift them out and drain.
  5. Press each drained artichoke crown-down on a board, firmly, to fan the leaves flat into a chrysanthemum. Let them cool 15 minutes.
  6. Second fry, to crisp: raise the oil to 180 C and return the artichokes head-down for 2 to 3 minutes, until the outer leaves are mahogany and rattle like crisps. In the Roman Ghetto the fryer flicks a few drops of cold water into the pan at this moment; it spits violently and sets the leaves rigid. Do it at arm's length or not at all.
  7. Drain crown-down on paper for 1 minute, scatter with flaky salt and serve immediately. They go soft within ten minutes and cannot be reheated.
  8. Substitutions: cimaroli globe artichokes (about 1.2 kg) can stand in for the mammole globe artichokes.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.