Cheesy, Breaded Artichoke Recipe | Carciofi alla Mamma Rosa

This is the artichoke recipe we cook the most, often several times a week during artichoke season here in Calabria. It’s a beloved family recipe, coming from Mamma Rosa herself. Her not-so-secret secret? Bread crumbs and cheese.

As much as we love this recipe, we do need to warn home cooks about the challenge of trying to recreate it… 

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 This Recipe

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.

Cut each artichoke in quarters. A fresh artichoke should have very little, if any, hairy choke inside the heart to remove. If your artichokes do have some, once you quarter them you can easily access and scoop out the choke with a spoon.

Watch the Pasta Grammar Video

Carciofi alla Mamma Rosa Recipe

Makes: 4 servings

Cook Time: 30 minutes

For this recipe, you will need:

• Salt
  
• 4 artichokes plus stems, trimmed and quartered (see above)
  
• 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
  
• About 2 tablespoons (8 grams) chopped fresh parsley, or to taste
  
• 1 cup (100 grams) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, or to taste (you can’t use too much)
  
• About ½ cup (50 grams) plain bread crumbs, or as needed
  

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Add the artichokes and stems and cook until very tender—usually 15 to 20 minutes depending on how tough the artichokes are. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and garlic in a large pan over medium heat. Add the boiled artichokes, stems, and chopped parsley and sauté for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the grated cheese.

As soon as the cheese has melted, gradually begin adding and stirring in bread crumbs. You want to add just enough to evenly coat the artichokes in bread crumbs. Continue to cook and stir for a minute or two, then serve warm.

Buon appetito!