Amedeo’s Mum’s Carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style fried artichokes)

Ingredients

• 4 artichokes
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 ½ litres of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Method

• Rinse the artichokes and remove the tough, woody outer leaves until you get to the ones which are whitish at the base.
• Cut off and discard the base of the stem and peel the rest of the stem. Cut off the top half of the artichoke leaves and discard.
• Gently prise open the artichoke leaves and place in a bowl with lemon juice and cold water. Leave to soak for 10-15 minutes. Remove artichokes and dry on kitchen paper.
• In a pan, heat the oil to 300° and deep-fry the artichokes for around 10 minutes.
• Remove from pan and leave to cool upside-down. Once cooled, turn the temperature of the oil up to 360° and fry a second time for a few minutes until golden and crisp, this time placing them upside-down (i.e. with the stem pointing upwards) in the pan and pressing down gently on them with a fork or tongs.
• Remove, drain on kitchen paper, season with salt & pepper and serve immediately.

Suggested wine pairing

Enjoy with a glass of chilled Falanghina del Sannio

Buon appetito!