Carciofi alla Romana | Roman-Style Braised Artichokes

Any time we visit Rome during artichoke season, this is the first dish we seek out. Whole artichoke heads are simply seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, mint, and olive oil, then braised in a pot until super tender. It’s one of the most classic and beloved artichoke recipes in Italy for good reason.

That being said, this recipe comes with a catch that can make it very difficult for many of our readers to replicate it at home…

The Problem with Artichokes

Most Italian artichoke recipes depend upon being able to eat pretty much the entire thing: heart, petals, and stem. Depending on where you live, you might only have access to artichokes that are much tougher than what we can find in Italy. In these cases, one normally scrapes some meat off the petals, discarding the rest.

While we hate to say it, we recommend avoiding Italian artichoke recipes unless you have access to artichokes that are very fresh and tender and can be eaten whole.

How to Clean and Trim Artichokes for Carciofi alla Romana

Ideally, you want to find artichokes that still have a significant amount of stem attached (even better if they have leaves as well). Fill a large bowl with water and squeeze in 1 or 2 lemons. We recommend wearing plastic gloves to avoid staining your hands while handling the artichokes.

If you have leaves, pull these off the artichoke stems. Trim and discard the leafy parts from their thin stems. Cut the leaf stems into roughly 3 inch sections and place in the lemon water.

Cut the stems off of the artichokes, keeping a few inches of the stems attached to the heads. Peel the tough skin of the stems with a paring knife, slice the stems in two lengthwise, cut them into roughly 3 inch sections, and place in the lemon water.

Pull off and remove the tough, outer petals of the artichoke head to expose the more tender petals beneath. You can identify the tough petals from the tender by their color: the former will be green (or sometimes more purple) and the latter will be a much lighter yellow. Peel off enough of the petals until the tender color reaches about ⅔ up from the stem base. Slice the top of the artichoke head off to remove the tough (green) top of the petals.

With a paring knife, peel the skin of the attached stem off, along with the rough part where the petals you trimmed off were attached. A fresh artichoke should have very little, if any, hairy choke inside the heart to remove. If your artichokes do have some, gently open the artichoke and scoop it out with a spoon. Place the cleaned artichoke heads in the lemon water.

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Carciofi alla Romana Recipe

Makes: 4 servings

Cook Time: 1 ½ hours

For this recipe, you will need:

• About ⅓ cup (20 grams) chopped fresh parsley
• 10 to 15 fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 4 large artichokes, cleaned and trimmed (see above)
• Salt
• Fresh black pepper
  
• Extra-virgin olive oil
  

Thoroughly mix the chopped parsley, mint, and diced garlic in a bowl.

Gently pry open the petals of an artichoke head. Sprinkle the inside with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Stuff a few big pinches of the parsley mix in between the petals, then gently press the artichoke head closed. Place it upside down (stem up) in a medium pot. Repeat to season and stuff the remaining artichokes.

If you have any stems, place these into the pot around the artichoke heads. Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper into the pot and add any remaining parsley mix you have on top of the artichokes. Drizzle them generously with olive oil, and add enough water to come up about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in the pot.

On a medium-low heat, bring the water to a simmer. Cover and let the artichokes braise until they are tender enough that you can easily insert a butter knife into the base of the stems—about 45 minutes depending on how tough your artichokes are. Keep an eye on the water and add a little more as necessary if it evaporates.

Serve the artichokes and stems warm, drizzled with the juices from the pot.

Buon appetito!