Carciofi alla romana

The filling and the lemon water

The quantities and the method follow one recipe whole; the pot size, the amounts of oil and water, the heat levels, the rest, the checks and the tips marked ‘Our guide’ are ours.

1. 1Chop the herb filling

   Start
   Hands-on 8 min

   Wash and dry the bunch of parsley and the bunch of mentuccia and pick off the leaves. Peel the clove of garlic. Chop the leaves finely together with the garlic, put them in the small bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of fine salt.

   Check A fine, moist green chop with no whole leaves or pieces of garlic left, glossy with the oil.

   Tip Our guide: dry the herbs well before chopping, in a cloth or a salad spinner; wet herbs turn to a watery mush under the knife.

   Tip Our guide: if the garlic clove has a green shoot in the middle, take it out; it is the bitter part.

2. 2Make the lemon water and put on gloves

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   Hands-on 3 min

   Fill the large bowl with about 2 l of cold water, squeeze in the juice of 2 of the lemons and drop in the squeezed halves. Cut the third lemon in half and keep it by the board. Put on the gloves.

   Check The bowl of lemon water and the halved lemon are next to the board, and your hands are gloved.

   Tip Wear gloves for all the trimming: artichokes stain bare hands black.

   Tip Our guide: the amount of water is ours; there must be enough for the 8 artichokes and the stem pieces to float freely.

Trimming the artichokes

This is the heart of the dish. Trim one artichoke from start to finish, drop it in the lemon water, then do the next. A cut artichoke darkens within minutes in the air, so it meets the lemon at every stage.

1. 3Pull off the tough outer leaves

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   Hands-on 2 min

   Hold the artichoke by its stem. Bend each dark outer leaf back and down until it snaps off near the base, and work round and round, layer after layer, until the leaves you reach are pale green and tender. Do not be afraid of throwing away a lot: a tough artichoke is unpleasant to eat.

   Check Only pale, yellowish-green leaves are left, and they bend rather than snap when pressed.

   Tip Our guide: with the small knife, pare away the dark green stubs left round the base where the leaves came off, turning the artichoke against the blade.

2. 4Cut the top into a rose

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   Hands-on 1 min

   Hold the knife at a slant and cut away the hard, dark tops of the leaves, turning the artichoke as you go, so that only the tender part is left and the top takes the typical shape of a rose.

   Check The top is a neat, pointed rose of pale leaves, with no dark green tips left.

   Tip Our guide: turn the artichoke against the knife rather than sawing; one steady slanting cut all round gives the cleanest rose.

3. 5Rub it with lemon

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   Hands-on 1 min

   Rub all the cut surfaces of the artichoke with the halved lemon, so it does not darken.

   Check Every cut surface glistens with lemon juice.

   Tip Our guide: squeeze the lemon a little as you rub, so the juice reaches between the leaves.

4. 6Cut and peel the stem, then into the lemon water

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   Hands-on 2 min

   Cut the stem, leaving about 5 cm on the artichoke. Peel the fibrous outside off the stem left on the artichoke. Peel the cut-off piece of stem too and keep its tender part. Drop the artichoke and the stem piece into the lemon water.

   Check The stem left on is pale and smooth, with no green strings, and the artichoke and the stem piece are under the lemon water.

   Tip Our guide: peel with the small knife or a vegetable peeler until you reach the pale, tender core; the outer layer stays stringy however long it cooks.

   Tip Our guide: throw away the woody end of the cut-off stem; keep only the part that peels to a pale core.

5. 7Trim the rest the same way

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   Hands-on 20–25 min

   Trim the remaining artichokes one by one in the same order: outer leaves, rose, lemon, stem, lemon water.

   Check All 8 artichokes and their stem pieces are in the lemon water, pale and unblemished.

   Tip Our guide: squeeze the rubbing halves into the bowl if the water is no longer sharp, and push the artichokes under now and then; they float.

Opening and filling

1. 8Drain them and open the heads

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   Hands-on 3 min

   Lift the artichokes out of the water and shake them. Set each one face down on the board and press on it so the head opens out.

   Check The leaves have spread apart and you can see down into the heart of each artichoke.

   Tip Our guide: press with the flat of your hand, firmly but slowly; a sharp blow can split the heart.

2. 9Take out the choke

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   Hands-on 4 min

   Open the leaves at the centre with your fingers and scrape out the fuzz in the heart with the teaspoon or melon baller.

   Check The heart is smooth, with no hairy fuzz left.

   Tip In spring romanesco artichokes have little or no choke, and what there is is so soft it may be left; outside the season, take it out.

   Tip Our guide: scrape gently; the heart is the best part, so take only the fuzz.

3. 10Fill them

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   Hands-on 5 min

   Divide the herb filling among the 8 artichokes and push it into the centre of each.

   Check Each artichoke has its share of green filling in the heart, and the heads are closed enough that it does not fall out when tipped over.

   Tip Our guide: squeeze each head gently once it is filled, to close it a little round the filling.

   Tip Our guide: share the filling out first, a small heap for each artichoke on the board, so the last one is not left short.

Braising

1. 11Pack them upside down in the pot

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   Hands-on 3 min

   Stand the artichokes on their heads, stems up, in the high-sided pot, tight against one another so they cannot open out. Cut the stem pieces into short lengths and tuck them in between. Sprinkle over another pinch of salt.

   Check The artichokes stand upright on their heads without toppling, touching on all sides.

   Tip Our guide: if there is a gap, wedge it with the stem pieces; loose artichokes open up and lose their filling.

   Tip Our guide: for more servings, use a wider pot that still holds them tightly.

2. 12Add the oil and water

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   Hands-on 2 min

   Pour about 150 ml of olive oil over and around the artichokes, then enough water to come about a third of the way up them (about 500 ml–600 ml in a 24 cm–26 cm pot).

   Check The liquid comes about a third of the way up the artichokes, with a film of oil on top.

   Tip Our guide: the amounts of oil and water are ours; the depth is what matters. Pour the water down the side of the pot, not over the filling.

3. 13Cover with parchment and bring to a simmer

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   Cooking 4–6 minHeat medium

   Wet the sheet of baking parchment, wring it out, and lay it over the artichokes, pressing it down round them and tucking it in at the sides of the pot. Set the pot over a medium heat until the liquid simmers.

   Check Small bubbles rise steadily round the edges and steam escapes from under the paper.

   Tip The paper, used instead of a lid, keeps in the right amount of moisture while letting some of the water evaporate. Traditionally it was a sheet of straw paper (carta paglia).

   Tip Our guide: wetting and wringing the parchment makes it soft enough to lie down over the stems.

4. 14Braise for about 30 minutes

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   Cooking 30 minHeat lowStart 30 min timer

   Turn the heat to low and let the artichokes braise gently for about 30 minutes. Then lift a corner of the paper and push a toothpick or the tip of a knife into the base of an artichoke, where the stem joins it.

   Check The toothpick slides into the base with no resistance; the artichokes are tender but still whole and hold their shape.

   Tip Our guide: if the toothpick still meets resistance, cover again and give them 5 minutes more, then test again.

   Tip Our guide: keep a gentle simmer, not a boil, so the heads do not break up. If the liquid has nearly cooked away before they are tender, add a few spoonfuls of hot water.

5. 15Let them settle for 5 minutes

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   Rest 5 minStart 5 min timer

   Take the pot off the heat and leave the artichokes to rest, still covered with the paper.

   Check The bubbling has stopped and the juices in the pot have settled, oil on top.

   Tip Our guide: the rest firms them up a little, so they hold together when you lift them out.

Serving and keeping

1. 16Serve them standing, with their juices

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   Hands-on 3 min

   Lift the artichokes out with the slotted spoon, turn them stem up on a serving dish, and spoon the juices from the pot over them. Serve them warm or at room temperature.

   Check The artichokes stand on the dish, stems up, glossy with oil, the green filling showing between the leaves.

   Tip Our guide: from the end of cooking they may be out of the fridge for 2 hours at most (1 hour on a day above 32 °C), so a dish served at room temperature is eaten within that time.

2. 17Put what is left in the fridge

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   Hands-on 3 min

   Put any leftovers, with their juices, in a shallow covered container in the fridge as soon as the meal is over, within 2 hours of the end of cooking (1 hour on a day above 32 °C).

   Check The artichokes are covered, in the fridge at 4 °C or below, within 2 hours of the end of cooking (1 hour above 32 °C).

   Tip Eat them within 2 days of cooking; they are not for the freezer.

   Tip Our guide: to serve them hot again, warm them covered in a small pan with a spoonful of water over a low heat until they reach 75 °C at the heart. To serve them at room temperature, take them out about 1 hour before; they may be out for 2 hours at most (1 hour above 32 °C), then what is left goes straight back in the fridge, or is thrown away, and is not set out again.