So my other half went to Europe for a wedding a few weeks ago and spent a few days in Rome before returning home to Australia. And when in Rome…well, you eat as the Romans do don’t you? Which happened to include these amazing Roman-Jewish fried artichokes. I’ll admit I had never heard of them before, but Ollie was eager to replicate this amazing little dish. And yes, it’s as easy as you’d think and as delicious as you would hope.
I love artichokes but have stuffed them up that many times because I never clean them properly – I have often been caught out by not taking enough of the outer leaves off and didn’t remove 100 per cent of the fuzzy inner choke. So I was either left with tough spikey leaves or a fuzzy uncomfortable tongue. You can imagine my frustration at constantly cooking them wrong. Eventually however, I figured it out. I was always too hesitant with them, but in the end less is more when it comes to cleaning artichokes…in fact in the recipe, I stuffed up a bit and forgot to chop off the top 2cm of the artichoke after I had removed the outer leaves which just goes to show sometimes we still get it wrong, and that’s ok, it’s all part of the process.
So for this recipe, do as I say, not as I do when it comes to properly preparing and cleaning your artichokes. While it didn’t make a huge impact on the end result – it did mean that there were a few tough leaf tops left on the artichoke. But, we ripped them off and kept on eating. But seriously, these little babies deep-fried are irresistibly delicious, not to mention addictive – I could eat them like a hot bowl of chips (actually, I would prefer the chokes over the chips).
The list:
4 large artichokes
Lemon wedges, for preparing artichokes and for serving
Vegetable oil
Salt
The method:
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Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze a lemon into the bowl of water, stir, then throw in the squeezed lemon halves to ensure your artichokes stay fresh and don’t turn brown.
- To prepare artichokes firstly peel off the outer tough leaves until you reach the lighter coloured leaves underneath (I usually find I have to remove 2-3 layers of leaves to reach this point).
- Then trim the stalk of the artichokes so that they are 3cm in length. Then, using a vegetable peeler, peel the outer tougher layer of the stalk off. Using a sharp kitchen knife, cut off the top 2cm of the artichokes and return to your lemon water until all are done.
- One at a time (to avoid unnecessary browning), cut artichoke lengthways and, using a spoon, remove the fuzzy inner choke, then return to the lemon water. Repeat until all artichokes are cleaned.
- Steam artichokes for 20 minutes (I used a bamboo steamer over a pot of boiling water) until soft.
- Heat 2 – 3cm of oil in a large heavy bottomed fry pan until a wooden spoon when dipped into the oil produces bubbles (this is an easy way to test if the oil is hot enough).
-
Pat your artichokes dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel before, one at a time, lowering slowly into the oil. Cooking artichokes for 10 – 15 minutes (turning no more than twice or they will start to fall apart) until golden brown. Remove using a slotted spoon and allow to cool slightly on a base of paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Sprinkle artichokes with salt and squeeze over fresh lemon juice to serve. The artichokes should have a crispy outer layer and a velvety soft inside around the base.
Enjoy!

Sit in cold lemon water to ensure your chokes don’t turn brown (and remember to chop off the top 2 – 3cm – as I forgot too!)
When in Rome I’ve had a version in which a very small type of artichokes was used for this dish. They pressed it down at the center, so the leaves were spread and it looked like an open flower. It was delicious!
Until I’ve read your post I thought only small artichokes are suitable to make the dish, and they are hard to find. So I’m really glad to learn it can be dome with the larger ones as well.
Next time I’ll get artichokes, I know what I’ll be making! Thanks! 🙂
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When I was doing research I saw them done like this as well, but I had to remove the choke in these ones so I changed it up a bit. Perhaps not entirely traditional…
I’m wondering if the variety you had didn’t need to have the fuzzy choke removed?
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It could be that since they were so small, there was no fuzzy choke inside to begin with, but I’m not sure.
I do like your version and as large artichokes are more available I will definitely try it once the season will start.
Meanwhile, as one artichoke aficionado to another, I’m inviting you to check out this recipe for lemony chicken with artichokes. 🙂
https://ronitpenso.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/chicken-with-artichokes-and-lemon/
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Good thinking, you’re probably right. I’ve made these a few times now and I just adore them. Thanks, I’ll have a look today 🙂
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What an awesome recipe and such beautiful photos. I still struggle with artichokes and I love how you highlight such a specific way of cooking them. You’re making me want to try again. I’ll bookmark this to see if I have any better luck.
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As I note in my post though, I did forget to cut off the top 2cm (such an idiot). Practiced this recipe twice before blogging it and look what happens. So just make sure you don’t do as I did haha. But yes, they can be a challenging ingredient to cook with, I would like to find more ways to work with them 🙂
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