Carciofi alla Giudia (Roman Twice-Fried Whole Artichokes)
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
Whole trimmed artichokes are fried gently at 150-160 °C until tender, opened and de-choked, then fried again at 180 °C until bronzed and crisp. Served hot with salt and lemon.
Based on the listed ingredients, none of the 14 major EU allergens. Always check product labels.
Method
- 1
Trim the artichokes. Squeeze the lemon halves into the cold water and drop them in. Snap off the tough outer leaves of one artichoke until only pale ones remain. Peel the stem, leaving 5 cm, pare the base into a smooth round and cut off the top 2-3 cm. Keep it in the lemon water while you trim the rest.
- 2
First fry. Heat oil 7-8 cm deep to 150-160 °C. Drain the artichokes, pat them completely dry, tap them upside down to loosen the leaves and rub with half the salt and the pepper. Fry for 12-15 min, turning, until a knife slides easily into the thickest part of the stem. Drain stem up on the tray.
- 3
Open them out. When cool enough to handle, spread the leaves gently outwards like a flower and scoop out any hairy choke from the centre.
- 4
Second fry. Heat the oil to 180 °C and fry the artichokes for 1-2 min, head down first, until bronzed and crackling. Drain, sprinkle with the remaining salt and serve at once with lemon wedges.
Storage
Best eaten straight away. After the first fry they can wait at room temperature for up to 2 hours before the second fry. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Low saturated fat: 0.6 g saturated fat per 100 g, 5.7% of energy (limits ≤ 1.5 g and ≤ 10%)
- Low sugars: 0.6 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
- High fibre: 3.4 g fibre per 100 kcal (needs ≥ 3 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 211 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0.1 g per serving
0.2 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0.4 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large bowl
- small sharp knife
- grapefruit spoon or teaspoon
- deep heavy pot or Dutch oven
- cooking thermometer
- tongs and slotted spoon
- tray lined with kitchen paper
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 190 kcal |
| Protein | 3.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 12.9 g |
| of which sugars | 1.3 g |
| of which free sugars | 0.1 g |
| Fat | 15.2 g |
| of which saturates | 1.2 g |
| Fibre | 6.5 g |
| Salt | 1.01 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
2.1 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
