Carciofi alla Romana - Roman-style artichokes

COURSE: Primo piatto

DIFFICULTY: Medium

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

8 Romanesco artichokes, trimmed
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup white wine
3 cloves garlic
¼ cup loosely-packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped
¼ cup loosely-packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt, to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Mince the garlic, parsley, and mint together. Mix in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Stuff the artichokes with the garlic mixture.

Place the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a tall, narrow pot. Arrange the artichokes side by side in the pot with their stems facing up. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Pour in the wine and enough water to reach 2 inches up the side of the pot. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid wrapped in a flat-weave dishtowel (avoiding the flame). Place a heavy nonflammable item on top of the lid to hold it in place. Simmer over medium heat, lowering the flame if the liquid begins to boil, until the artichokes are extremely tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Check occasionally, and if the pot seems very dry, add water in small amounts (but keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to have very little liquid).

When the artichokes are tender, remove the lid, turn the heat up to high, and boil until most of the liquid has evaporated and just the oil remains in the pot. (You may be able to skip this step if there is very little liquid in the pot.) Remove the artichokes with a slotted spoon, and set aside to cool, reserving the cooking liquid.

When the artichokes have cooled, drizzle them with the oil from the pot. Serve this delicious spring dish warm or at room temperature.

Buon appetito!

This recipe was first published courtesy of Eataly Magazine.

Find the original recipe here.