How to clean an Italian artichoke step-by-step

 

 

I have loved artichokes since I can remember, long before moving to the largest artichoke producer in the world.

 

As a young child, I remember ordering the large, green globes in French restaurants, pulling the steamed leaves off one at a time and dipping them into melted butter.

 

In Italy, however, the most commonly found artichokes are not as large and round. Sure, a larger variety exists here too, the Romanesco artichoke, but smaller varieties, some of which are extremely thorny, are more readily available. They taste every bit as delicious as the globe shaped ones, but their leaves are not quite as fleshy and getting to the deliciousness hidden in their core is a little more arduous.

 

 

Prettier than a bouquet of flowers

 

For years I was intimidated at the thought of cleaning them but it didn't matter because in most Italian markets they clean them before/while selling them.

 

That is not always the case, however. And if you buy them at the supermarket, the uncleaned ones are much cheaper than the cleaned ones, not to mention they stay fresher longer than the latter. So learning this very simple skill can be useful, especially because spring is - supposedly - right around the corner and artichokes have started appearing a-plenty around here.

 

 

 

 

The first thing you will need to prepare when cleaning an artichoke is a large bowl of water with some lemon juice or vinegar in it, to keep oxidation at bay. Artichokes (and your finger nails) will tend to turn brown as soon as you start cutting them.

 

The next step is to get rid of the outer, tougher leaves. A suggestion: always throw out more than you think you need to, even the slightest resistance is off-putting when you are chewing. Trust me.

 

 

Then you cut off the tip. Here the same rule applies: cut off more than you think necessary. You want only the tenderest part of the vegetable.

 

 

 

 

The last (or first if you prefer) step is to shorten the stem. Here is another tip: do not throw them out!!! If you peel off the stringy outer layer, the inside is perfectly edible and delicious, which makes sense when you think it is just a extention of the heart (that we all know is the best part, right?).

 

 

 

 

Whenever you have a cleaned artichoke and stem, drop it into the bowl of acidulated water.

  

 

 

At this point you can go many ways. You can cook the artichokes whole or in several other ways. This variety of artichoke is small enough that you can eat the whole choke without a problem. But if you are stuffing them or cutting them into pieces for a recipe, you will now proceed to cleaning the choke out.

 

If you are dealing with a whole artichoke, spread open the leaves and scoop out the inner choke with a sturdy spoon. If you will be using them in pieces anyway, cut them in halves or quarters and proceed to clean with a spoon or paring knife.

 

 

 

 

Now that they are clean, go crazy!
You can make frittata, you can braise them with potaoes, parsley and garlic like I did (the trick is that the potatoes soak up all the flavor and taste like artichoke hearts too), you can use them in a risotto or a pasta sauce. Another typical preparation is to slice them very thinly and eat them raw with Parmesan flakes and dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. It may sound bizzarre but it is delicious. Or you could steam them and preserve them in olive oil for when they will no longer be in season.

 

 

 

 

If, on the other hand, you are lazy and don't want all the fuss or you have some lovely Romanesco artichokes, skip this post (too late!) eat them like this.