Name: Roman Jewish Artichokes – Carciofi Alla Giudea
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 8 artichokes; Oil for frying; 2 lemons; Salt and pepper

Roman Jewish Artichokes – Carciofi Alla Giudea

In Rome, one of the Jewish specialties are these fried artichokes. People from all backgrounds come to the Jewish quarter just to get the best artichokes in town and this is how you make them.

Roman Jewish Artichokes – Carciofi Alla Giudea

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1

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Servings

Ingredients

8 artichokes
Oil for frying
2 lemons
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Fill a large bowl with water.
Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the water. Make sure to get lots of lemon on your hands to prevent them from getting stained from the artichokes (yes, that happens).
Peel the outer leaves until the leaves are light green.
Cut off any tough parts of the artichoke, including the tops of the leaves, the ‘stubble’ from the leaves that you peeled off and the outer layers of any stem that remains.
Place each cleaned artichoke into the lemon water. Make sure they are covered by the water. You can put a plate on top to press them down. Soak for 10 mins. Heat the oil.
Place a few artichokes in the oil so the flower is upside-down. It should sizzle but not ‘pop’ like crazy. Fry for 10 minutes then remove and set aside to cool- this is only the first frying stage.
Once the artichokes are cool enough to handle, reheat the oil. Scoop out the fuzzy parts from the inside of the artichokes and then place again in the hot oil to fry for another 2-3 minutes, until perfectly golden.
Place the finished artichokes on a paper towel lined tray then serve immediately with slices of lemon.