carciofi alla piperno
Piperno is a restaurant in the old Jewish quarter of Rome, which is famous for artichokes cooked in this way. They use Romanesco artichokes and taught us to reject artichokes that have opened out, as the chokes will be too developed for this recipe.
for 6
12 Romanesco artichokes
sunflower oil for deep-frying
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large lemons
Heat the oil to 100°C/212°F in your deep-fryer.
Peel away one layer of the outside leaves of the artichokes. Don’t peel the stalks yet. Cut the stalks 2 cm from the heads.
Fry the artichokes in batches, depending on the size of your fryer. The artichokes are to be fried twice, so first fry each artichoke for 15 minutes until the leaves are beginning to crisp and the heart beginning to soften. Lift out of the fat and drain on kitchen paper. When cool, peel off the outside leaves, trim the tops of the artichokes and peel the stalks. Increase the temperature of the oil to 170°C/340°F.
To fry the second time, check your oil has reached the desired temperature. Place the artichokes two or three at a time in the hot oil and fry until completely crisp, about 2–3 minutes.
To flatten out the artichokes, set each artichoke on a board and gently separate the leaves of the head out to expose the heart. Squeeze between two plates so that the oil drips out. Season the flattened artichokes, and serve two per portion with a half lemon.