Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [30]
4. If serving them the same day, allow the carrots to steep in their marinade for at least 3 hours at room temperature. If making them for another day, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until 2 hours before serving, allowing them to come to room temperature before bringing to the table. If keeping for longer than a day, remove the garlic after 24 hours.
Carciofi alla Romana—Artichokes, Roman Style
THE STOUT, globe artichoke common to North American markets is but one of several varieties grown in Italy. It is, however, precisely the kind that Romans use to prepare one of the glories of the antipasto table, i carciofi alla romana, one of the tenderest and most enjoyable of all artichoke dishes. In it, the artichoke is braised whole, with the stem on, and served thus, upside down, at room temperature. When you step into a Roman trattoria, if it is artichoke season, you will see them displayed on great platters bristling with their upended stems. The stem, when carefully trimmed, is the most delectable and concentrated part of the entire vegetable. The only exacting part of this recipe is, in fact, the trimming away of all the tough, inedible parts that usually make eating artichokes a chore. When you master the preparation of carciofi alla romana, you will be able to apply the same sound principles to a broad variety of other artichoke dishes.
For 4 servings
4 large globe artichokes
½ lemon
3 tablespoons parsley chopped very fine
1½ teaspoons garlic chopped very fine
6 to 8 fresh mint leaves, chopped fine
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1. In preparing any artichoke it is essential to discard all the tough, inedible leaves and portions of leaves. When doing it for the first time it may seem wasteful to throw so much away, but it is far more wasteful to cook something that can’t be eaten. Begin by bending back the outer leaves, pulling them down toward the base of the artichoke, and snapping them off just before you reach the base. Do not take the paler bottom end of the leaf off because at that point it is tender and quite edible. As you take more leaves off and get deeper into the artichoke, the tender part at which the leaves will snap will be farther and farther from the base. Keep pulling off single leaves until you expose a central cone of leaves that are green only at the tip, and whose paler, whitish base is at least 1½ inches high.
Slice at least an inch off the top of that central cone to eliminate all of the tough green part. Take the half lemon and rub the cut portions of the artichoke, squeezing juice over them to keep them from discoloring.
Look into the exposed center of the artichoke, where you will see at the bottom very small leaves with prickly tips curving inward. Cut off all those little leaves and scrape away the fuzzy “choke” beneath them, being careful not to cut away any of the tender bottom. If you have a small knife with a rounded point, it will be easier for you to do this part of the trimming. Return to the outside of the artichoke and, where you have snapped off the outer leaves, pare away any of the tough green part that remains. Be careful not to cut off the stem, which, for this dish, must remain attached.
Turn the artichoke upside down and you will notice, inspecting the bottom of the stem, that the stem consists of a whitish core surrounded by a layer of green. The green part is tough, the white, when cooked, soft and delicious, so you must pare away the green, leaving the white intact. Pare the stem thus all the way to the base of the artichoke, being careful not to detach it. Rub all the exposed cut surfaces with lemon juice.
2. In a bowl mix the chopped parsley, garlic, and mint leaves, and add salt and a few grindings of pepper. Set aside one-third of the mixture. Press