Italian Fried Artichokes Recipe - An Italian in my Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

How do you eat fried artichokes in Italy? ›

This time, water is flicked into the oil, which turns the outer leaves crispy. Carciofi alla giudia are eaten whole. First you pick off and eat the outer leaves, which are like potato chips, and then you move on to the center, which has a rich, buttery consistency and flavor.

While other countries usually eat the leaves and discard the stalk, in Rome we usually trim the hard, outer leaves along with the base and exterior part of the stem before preparing and cooking the artichokes whole, making the result fully edible (many Romans believe the stem, or gambo, to be the best, most flavorsome, ...

Arrange the artichokes in the basket in a single layer. Cover the pot, bring the water to a simmer over high heat, then lower the heat and continue to simmer the artichokes until a knife slides easily into the stem end or a leaf pulled from the artichoke comes out easily, 25 to 40 minutes.

Serving Tips

To enjoy, start pulling off the outer leaves first and work your way in. The leaves can actually be enjoyed whole, and they'll taste like crunchy chips with soft meat at the bottom.

Worldwide artichoke production is 1.59 million metric tons. Egypt comes next with 269,899 metric tons and Spain produces 199,940 metric tons. These three countries represent about half of the world's market. Italy also is the largest consumer, enjoying about 394,000 metric tons in 2018 and exporting 4,800 metric tons.

Native to the Mediterranean, artichokes have been cultivated and eaten in Italy since the days of ancient Rome. The Romans popularised the idea that the artichoke was a powerful aphrodisiac, and until the 16th century women were forbidden from eating the vegetable because of its purported powers.

Arab traders brought artichokes to Medieval Spain, and Spanish Jews enthusiastically adopted them, creating their own artichoke-themed dishes. When Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, they took their love of artichokes with them.

When preparing an artichoke, discard the center "choke" (except in baby artichokes), but the base of the petals, the center of the stem and the entire artichoke heart are completely edible and easy to cook.

In Italy, carciofi are greatly appreciated in a variety of forms by gourmands—or bocche fini (literally “fine mouths”) as they are called in Italy—from delicate risotto or pasta sauces to beautifully preserved artichoke hearts.

Two major active components of artichoke are the salts of chlorogenic acid and cynarin. The sweetening of substances by temporarily modifying the tongue, rather than by adding a substance sweet in itself, may provide an alternative to currently used nonnutritive sweeteners.

How do you take the bitterness out of artichokes? ›

Cut the stem, leaving about an inch, and then peel the outer skin since it can taste bitter. Make sure to rub lemon on the bottom of the stem, too. Clean the artichokes by running them under cold water, making sure to clean between the leaves.

Rome's artichokes are world-famous and very popular in the Roman cuisine. Unlike other artichokes, they are round and soft, and more importantly they have no spines.

In season, every traditional restaurant has artichokes on their menus. They prepare them two ways: Alla Romana — stuffed with garlic and herbs, then slowly braised, to savory, tender perfection, or Alla Guidia, flattened and deep-fried, transformed to glistening deep gold flowers.

Then to eat an artichoke, just peel off the leaves one by one, dip them in your sauce, and then use your teeth to scrape off the tender fleshy part on the underside of the leaves.