A guide to easily get to the heart of this spiky globe
Is there an ingredient you’re leery of, either because it’s intimidating or you are clueless about how to cook it? For me, that is the artichoke. I’ve listened to my Italian neighbor Josephine sing its praises on multiples occasions. I’m pretty sure she breaks into song when it comes in season in March. I, on the other hand, feel cleaning and cooking an artichoke looks like too much work. Also, what’s up with having to strip the artichoke “meat” from inside the petals with your teeth?
Even the name is unappetizing. Do you really want to associate choking with eating?
I didn’t grow up eating artichokes. It wasn’t until I had children that I tasted the jarred variety in one of its most common preparations — baked spinach-artichoke dip. Made with creamed cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, Parmesan cheese and garlic, the warm dip is standard party fare because it’s easy to make and super tasty.
Artichokes are tricky to handle and eat. Their tough spiky bracts, or leaves, promise to puncture your fingertips. The fuzzy white centers — known as chokes — protect the tender heart, but they can get stuck in your throat if you don’t meticulously scrape out all the fibers.
Yet the other day, after watching video after YouTube video, I cleaned and then cooked about a dozen of the spiky green globes. And I was smiling.
I thank actor Stanley Tucci for that.
I’m a big fan of his two Italian cookbooks. But his new Italy travel show on CNN, “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” is nothing short of magical.
In each of its six episodes, he eats his way through a region of Italy. He showcases special foods — in envy-inducing bites — from a particular region, along with the age-old cooking methods that define them.
Week two landed him in Rome, where he sampled the sweet buns called maritozzi, tasted bowls of rigatoni all’amatriciana and carbonara, stopped by an offal restaurant for some unusual organ meats and, most delightfully, introduced viewers to carciofi alla giudia, Jewish-style fried artichokes.
Born in Rome’s Jewish ghetto, the dish transformed unloved ingredients into a “food for the ages,” he tells viewers. Fried artichokes turned Jewish cooking into the “third pillar of Roman cuisine.” When I watched him taste the crispy, golden-brown artichokes, I wanted to taste them too.
The following weekend, I headed to the grocery store to make it happen.
First things first. While it’s classified and eaten as a vegetable, an artichoke is actually the unflowered bud from a large plant in the thistle family. That explains why it’s spiny on the outside and hairy on the inside.
There are more than a dozen artichoke varieties, but the most common one sold in U.S. grocery stores is green globe. An artichoke can reach the size of a softball and should feel heavy for its size. A fresh one will have tightly packed leaves, and it should squeak ever so slightly when you squeeze it.
Don’t worry about the brownish spots on the leaves or stem. Artichokes turn black immediately when a cut part comes into contact with air. Frost also will cause spots. They can last in the refrigerator, unwashed, for about a week with no problem.
Despite the fact they’re often served with a boatload of melted butter, artichokes are generally a healthful, whole food. Along with being rich in fiber, they are loaded with antioxidants and nutrients such as vitamin C and iron, and can aid with digestion and liver function.
To get to the pale, creamy-looking heart that’s so delicious, all you need is a bowl of lemon water, a pair of kitchen shears, a sharp paring knife and a chef’s knife (serrated works well too).
GRETCHEN MCKAY/PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE PHOTOS 4 servings.
4 medium artichokes (about 1 2 ounces each)
4 lemons, divided
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise or melted butter for serving, optional stem so artichoke stands upright, then snap off tough outer leaves. Snip remaining sharp or spiky tips using kitchen shears. Using a serrated or chef’s knife, cut off the top third or so of the artichoke. 2 lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a large bowl of ice water, then toss the halves in. Set aside surfaces of the artichoke with the third lemon, halved crosswise, to prevent discoloration, or dip it into lemon water. Repeat with remaining artichokes and lemon. a steamer basket in a large pot. Add enough water so it reaches just below the basket. Squeeze lemon juice from the lemon into water and add salt. Bring to a boil. artichokes in steamer basket. Cover pot and steam until heart is tender when pierced with a tip of a paring knife and inner leaves pull out easily, 2 5 to 3 5 minutes; add more water to pot, if necessary. warm or at room temperature with Hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise or melted butter for dipping.