Say it like you mean it because we all do. They are in the top five best things to eat in the world.
They’re Roman, they’re Jewish, they’re deep-fried. They are, of course, Jewish Style Artichokes.
Carciofi Alla Giudia is the ultimate deep-fried vegetables, and if you can master making them at home, then your Hanukkah just got a whole lot better.
There are Italian Jews, Roman Jews, and Italkim. In the region since before the destruction of the Second Temple, the Italkim uses the Italian liturgy, sometimes called the Italian Rite. Not Ashkenazi, Mizrahim, or Sephardim, the Italkim are distinguishable from other Jews in Italy who use either the Sephardic liturgy or the Nusach Ashkenaz since their arrivals.
Expulsions post both Temples destruction brought various Jewish traditions to Rome and throughout the Mediterranean. The Italkim are a remarkable group though — pre-diaspora and looking for food. Although Italian Jews as a whole should be thanked together for they collectively brought or utilized the greatest ingredients and changed the culinary map.
The preeminent food writer, and founder of Kosher Gourmet magazine, Gil Marks, wrote that for a long time, artichokes were known as “the Jewish vegetables,” rising to popularity throughout the region by the 17th century.
The exceptional work of Gill Marks lives on, and his cookbooks are terrific. Olive Trees and Honey was the 2005 James Beard Foundation Award winner and a 2006 IACP Cookbook Award finalist, and no home should be without his Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Just read them all:
- The World of Jewish Cooking: More Than 500 Traditional Recipes from Alsace to Yemen (Simon & Schuster, 1996)
- The World of Jewish Entertaining: Menus and Recipes for the Sabbath, Holidays, and Other Family Celebrations (Simon & Schuster, 1998)
- The World Of Jewish Desserts: More Than 400 Delectable Recipes from Jewish Communities (Simon & Schuster, 2000)
- Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World (Wiley, 2004)
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Wiley, 2010)
Carciofi Alla Giudia
Ingredients
- 4 medium artichokes
- 1 1/2 medium lemons, cut into wedges
- Oil, for frying
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Mondate i carciofi delle foglie più dure e tuffateli in acqua fredda e succo di limone. Sgocciolateli e, tenendoli per il gambo, pressateli sul piano di lavoro in modo che le foglie si allarghino, quindi salateli e pepateli dentro e fuori. In una larga padella dai bordi alti scaldate a fiamma media abbondante olio, immergetevi i carciofi, cuoceteli per circa 10-12 minuti rigirandoli con l’aiuto di due forchette.
Quando iniziano a diventare color oro controllate alla base del gambo la cottura che deve essere leggermente al dente. Ritirateli con la paletta bucata e asciugateli su carta assorbente.
Scaldate di nuovo l’olio a fiamma vivace, con una forchetta infilzate alla base un carciofo alla volta e tenetelo immerso nell’olio bollente per circa 3-4 minuti. Le foglie si apriranno come i petali di un fiore diventando croccanti. A questo punto chi conosce i segreti della cucina, sa che deve spruzzarli con un getto d’acqua fredda: le foglie diventeranno ancora più croccanti. Ritirate i carciofi, asciugateli su un telo da cucina o su carta assorbente e serviteli subito caldissimi.
Sono un appetitoso antipasto, ma anche un contorno o una pietanza nella misura di due carciofi a persona.
++ The directions are in Italian, clearly. If you can read them, give this recipe a whirl. If reading Italian is not your thing, do yourself a favor and don’t try peeling back artichokes to fry them Jewish style at home. It’s an art. Thank you www.cucchiaio.it for the directions. ++
