Carciofi: Mamme e Figlioli
Dateline: 01/11/99
Artichokes, the immature flowers of a member of the thistle family,
are one of the nicest things about winter in Central Italy; they appear with
the leaden skies of December and accompany us through the beginning of spring,
in April. They come in a tremendous variety of shapes and colors, from tiny
delicate ones well suited for being eaten raw in pinzimonio, to purplish green medium-sized ones
suitable for sautéing, making spaghetti sauce, and whatnot, to what
Tuscans call Mamme: large (4 inch or more in diameter) round ones that often
have baby artichokes attached to their stems (hence the name), and are perfect
for stuffing.
No matter which variety you select, you have to do so with care, because a fuzzy choke is a tremendous disappointment. Like a good orange, a good artichoke will feel firm and solid when you pick it up. It shouldn't give if you squeeze it gently, nor should it feel light. If it does, it probably has air (and fuzz) in its heart. Pass it by. Once you have selected your artichokes and gotten them home, stand them in a vase with water until you're ready to use them (they are flowers, after all). If need be you can keep them like this for a day or two, but they tend to toughen with time.
What to do with them? Once when I was in the US many years ago a friend cooked a dinner that began with artichokes and a dipping sauce; we picked off the leaves, dipped them, and ate just the pulp while leaving the fibrous parts behind until we reached the tender inner section, which we ate all of. This is not the Italian way.
Giuliano Malizia gives the following instructions in La Cucina Romana e del Lazio:
The secret, admitted that one can call it that, for obtaining an artichoke that can be enjoyed in its entirety is knowing how to trim it, i.e. how to free it of the tough leaves Romans vulgarly call hocks and spits.
The expert housewife slices off the tough parts of the leaves, in other words the tops, with a sharp knife, beginning with the base of the artichoke where the leaves are tenderest and working up; in the process the artichoke will become spherical. I must underline that, especially with regards to the outermost leaves, the housewife will use her fingers to determine where the tough part begins and thus where to cut. [Note: if you are rushed, you can cut off the top of the artichoke and then trim the individual leaves.]
When she's done with the leaves she cleans the stalk, trimming away the ridged outer part while leaving the heart [if you look at the end of the stock you will see a ring; trim away the stem outside it], and drops the artichoke into water that's well acidulated with lemon juice lest it blacken.
[If you are following another recipe turn to it at this point. Mr. Malizza goes on to tell how to prepare carciofi alla romana, which is probably one of the best uses for really good freshly picked artichokes:]
Once all the artichokes are trimmed she takes the first, whacks it a few times against her table to loosen the leaves, pries open the center so she can scrape out any fuzz there may be with her knife, and slips in a piece of a garlic clove and a sprig of mint or, in its absence, parsley, together with an abundant drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. It doesn't hurt to rub the outside of the artichoke with salt and pepper as well.
The artichokes thus prepared are stood upright in a pan, preferably terracotta, whose sides are high enough to keep the artichokes upright as they cook (you may want to shorten the stems, or trim the artichokes flat across the base). Pour enough olive oil to cover the artichokes half way, fill with water to cover, and set the pot to simmer until the water is completely evaporated. Once cooked they're ready to be served hot, though they're also excellent cold. They should never be reheated, however.
Buon Appetito!
Kyle Phillips
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Text & photo © Kyle Phillips.