A specialty of the city's famous Jewish cuisine, carciofi alla giudia is one of the Eternal City's favorite seasonal dishes. It's an age-old preparation, like the rest of this cuisine -- a wonderful combination of two cultures over centuries, made up largely of well-guarded recipes that have passed on from generation to generation with a great respect for the traditions. <br /> <br />The best place to enjoy these, of course, is in the heart of Rome's old Jewish ghetto, where the preparation of carciofi alla giudia (along with a host of other delicious deep fried things) is preserved in the restaurants of this Roman quarter. But it is also very easy to replicate at home. In Roman markets during peak artichoke season, you can find amongst the piles of whole artichokes, already prepared ones, ready simply to be dipped into bubbling hot olive oil. <br /> <br />Artichokes may take a little bit of time and care to prepare, but this preparation is even simpler than most and once that's done, the recipe is too easy. <br /> <br />Using large, round globe artichokes grown in Lazio (known as Romanesco artichokes, they have IGP or Protected Geographical Indication status, which means this particular variety is strictly tied to the area in which it has been historically and traditionally produced), the tough, outer leaves are first removed, then the artichokes are trimmed until they look like roses. Then they are deep fried, whole, at first quite gently, just rolling about until cooked. Then they are removed, cooled down and then plunged head first into bubbling hot olive oil until they look like sunburnt sunflowers. <br /> <br />The trick to getting the unique combination of crisp leaves – nutty and deep golden brown – and a meltingly tender interior comes from frying twice. <br /> <br />Choose large, round globe artichokes that still have a bit of stem on them.

Oct. 1, 2021, 11:48 a.m.

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