Artichokes are a huge part of Italian cooking, so it’s no surprise a lot of people have asked us for more recipes. We’ve always avoided the topic though, because Italian artichoke recipes come with a bit of a problem…
In this video, Eva shares three traditional Italian artichoke dishes that are simple, delicious, and very typical of how they’re cooked in Italy. On the surface, they seem straightforward, but there’s one catch that makes them surprisingly difficult to recreate.
If you’ve ever wondered how artichokes are really used in Italian cuisine, or why these recipes don’t always turn out the way you expect, this video will give you a better idea of what’s going on.
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CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA RECIPE – https://pastagrammar.com/blogs/recipes/carciofi-alla-romana-roman-style-braised-artichokes
STUFATO DI CARCIOFI E PATATE RECIPE – https://pastagrammar.com/blogs/recipes/italian-artichoke-potato-stew-stufato-di-carciofi-e-patate-recipe
CARCIOFI ALLA MAMMA ROSA RECIPE – https://pastagrammar.com/blogs/recipes/cheesy-breaded-artichoke-recipe-carciofi-alla-mamma-rosa
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00:00 – Italian Artichoke Recipes
01:49 – How to Clean Artichokes
06:18 – How to Make Roman-Style Artichokes
09:44 – What Makes Italian Artichokes Different?
11:15 – Tasting Eva’s Carciofi alla Romana Recipe
14:47 – How to Make Artichoke & Potato Stew
17:37 – Tasting Eva’s Stufato di Carciofi e Patate Recipe
20:06 – How to Make Artichokes… Mamma Rosa Style!
22:18 – Tasting Mamma Rosa’s Carciofi Gratinati Recipe
25:43 – Pasta Grammarian in Action!
#artichoke #roman #mammarosa
40 Comments
Where do you live and what has your experience been with artichokes? Let us know!
I learned to like artichokes a few years ago. I really underestimated them. Great video, thank you! 😃
I only like the marinated ones. I like artichoke quiche, I used to order it from a small Italian restaurant in Fremont where I live. That was years ago. They also had trout quiche. Yum was that delicious! 😂
i’m going to provide a counter point to Harper‘s argument about American grown artichokes. In California, globe artichokes are the mainstay in artichoke production. The vast majority are grown in the Castro Valley along the coast and while it’s true that the interior “choke” portion needs to be cleaned out because the artichokes are grown to a maturity point that makes them much more fibrous and inedible, if you pick the right artichoke at the store and those would be the ones with very thick stem base i.e. where the stem is closest to the actual flower, you get a much larger heart (the ones I buy the hearts are four times larger than the one Ava just prepared) to eat. which, let’s be honest, that’s the best part of an artichoke. And while it’s true, the petals of a globe artichoke can only be eaten as Harper described with some waste, again it’s because of the size, the enormity of the artichoke. I’ve been eating artichokes since I was about six years old and now I’m in my 60s, and I’ve learned a few tricks along the way . When you’re prepping a California artichoke you can do the way Ava did it but when you cut the top off and spread the middle part out if you take your time, you can pull that interior section out and use a spoon to clean out the choke prior to cooking. Sometimes I do that and sometimes I don’t because you do lose some of the interior leaves that are quite tender, which make for several bites before cleaning the choke off of the heart . So most of the time I leave that center part in and then we eat the center leaves dipping them in mayonnaise, which is by far the best way to eat an artichoke in my opinion. Then when it comes time, you simply take a spoon and clean out the choke portion above the heart, and then you have a wonderful and huge artichoke heart to continue to enjoy after the extra minute or two it takes to clean the choke. It is well worth the effort and the time for the reward. if you know how to pick them at the market you get four times the size of the heart than what you just ate in today’s Vlog. I’ve also learned over the years. It is much better to steam artichokes rather than have them sitting in boiling water. They stay firmer and they cook faster. so Harper, I watch your show every week and it’s pretty obvious you think everything Italian is better than everything American and that’s fine but I’m sorry to say globe artichokes are well worth the effort and if you know what you’re doing they’re quite easy to prep, and in fact, you prep them almost exactly the way Ava did, including trimming the stem down to eat the middle part, which is also edible on a globe. my two cents.
I lived in Rome for 18 years, and as a vegetarian I've eaten a LOT of carciofi alla romana, and love it. But I'd love your take on carciofi alla giudea and also in a restaurant in Testaccio, Bucatino, they do a great mix, where it's soft like alla romana, but then pan crisped. The absolute best.
Here in Sweden.. Because we are in the EU.. We get several different varieties directly from Italy. Now it is the smaller ones that can be eaten whole that are in season.. And later on in the season we get the bigger variety that is stuffed and you have to take out the choke or you can actually "choke" on it.. My grandfather was an Italian chef and had an Italian restaurant. He would cook the different varieties of artichoke in different ways.
Is the spinach and artichoke dip an American Italian thing?
I do grow artichokes (Central Valley of California) and plan to try MamaRosa's artichokes soon. I live very close to Castroville, CA, the so-named "Artichoke Capitol of the World." We seem to have good artichokes in and out of season here. I would contact Scattini Family Farms or the corporate grower, Ocean Mist with questions about difference between artichokes. I, too, am obsessed with Artichokes.
Your recipes look so good! I usually have bought pickled quartered artichoke hearts and often just eat them cold as a side or snack, and I rarely if ever see them in the produce aisle at the grocery store. I have also seen artichoke hearts in the frozen vegetables section and made spinach artichoke dip, which is very popular here for dipping chips. If I see them in the future I will buy them and try your recipes. I love how you “Mama Rosa” your casseroles! It’s very typical to do that here in Wisconsin. So now I have a name for that! We will make your Mama famous!😂❤
10:42 The "choke"… it really is dependent on variety and season… if you grow your own or buy in season in at farmer's markets you can totally prepare it just like this. They have to be young enough to remain tender through… Once the inside turns purple it is ready to bloom… at this stage it is too prickly and the choke is fully developed… you have to be more careful eating the inside at that stage.
We make them stuffed with garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley, parmesan salt & pepper. To open the closed artichoke we bang it flower down on the counter until they open. We stand them up in a pan heart down in salted water with several cracked garlic cloves in the water. The water just to cover the heart. Olive oil drizzled all over artichokes. Bring to a boil and immediately lower to a simmer and cover until cooked. It depends on the size of the artichoke. Once a petal comes out easily… it's cooked.
When I was in Rome I had lunch at an Italian trattoria in the Jewish quarter, and it was the best meal in all my Italian trip, and among the dishes my favourite was Carciofi alla Giudia. Amazing!!!
My late Mom always added mint with artichokes. Here in Canada artichokes came from California and were how Harper described. In Toronto my parents tried to grow artichokes, but were unsuccessful. Mom would make them alla Romano. In the summer we had fresh mint in the garden, and in the winter when artichokes were available, she had dried mint from the garden. She did a stuffing for the centre of the artichoke with finely chopped escarole with the mint, garlic and seasonings. The other thing she made with small artichokes was a light tomato sauce with olive oil, sausage, onions & seasonings including garlic & some mint, tomatoes, artichokes, fava or lima beans, and cabbage. The combination was delicious.
When we attempt to make stuffed artichokes there is a lot of waste because the outer leaves are so tough. But once you trim and peel, they can work. I'm partial to making it casserole style with the hearts in water. A few Italian deli type stores might carry the Roman artichokes at times.
I keep hearing Eva say hedgehogs not artichokes. It makes the video sound rather cruel. 😂
Mamma Rosa is my favorite. Same ingredients , but we brown our breadcrumbs first with a little olive oil, garlic, Romano cheese, parsley, stuff the cleaned artichoke, remove the tough leaves first, steam them on the stove until tender, fantastic! Dad was Sicilian and that recipe must’ve come from his mom and dad, 😘
It is also my favorite flower in the world Eva! Am I the only one whose eyes well up with tears when Eva cooks? I miss MY Mama also named Rosa . And my Dad who grew the artichokes and parsley in our so Cal backyard .
Like many others we trim and cut, then remove the choke and stuff with garlic, bread crumbs, parsley and pecorino. Then it's drizzled with olive oil and steamed in a pot with a little water and some lemon.
It’s called the choke
I can feel an " Artichoke cookbook" coming on? Not my favourite flower, but maybe it could be? 🙂
Not Momma Rosa artichoke here in America. I'm so jealous. Although you can purchase frozen artichoke hearts. It's probably the closest. These recipes look incredible. Such torture! 😢 😅😂
Figs are also flowers. Love your shows!
Get your local farmers involved!
Have you tried the second one Mama Rosa style???? The thought of potatoes in the last recipe fills me with joy 😊
Yesss do a whole series while the artichokes are in season…Don't wait for our approval to Rock those Artichokes!! Share it All…we will enjoy!!!
We always opened the artichoke up and scoop/scrape the interior fibrous stamin out along with the sharp petals in the center, saving the heart and petals together. We stuff them as well with shrimp or ham and bread crumbs, lots of parsley, parmesan, garlic and liberal olive oil. When done we drizzle melted butter ans lemon. We also eat the peeled stems. Like artichoke, thistles, too, are eaten here in southern Louisiana.
I remember trying artichoke recipes back when I was in high school and just getting into cooking. Between how much artichoke I had to waste, and a persistent fear that I wouldn't get all the Choke out and would die (idk if it would have, but it was the 90s and I couldn't just Google it), I just gave up on artichokes very early in my culinary career. They're also quite expensive to get fresh artichokes on the east coast of the USA.
I wonder if you want to cook recipes like this in the US if you might get the right result if you look for locally grown baby artichokes? You would have to get them in season (so here in northern Illinois that would be late June to early July). Or of course you can grow them yourself if you are talented in that way (I have a black thumb of death 😏).
The artichokes we get at the supermarket are from California for the most part and picked later when they are large and more fibrous either to get maximum prices (sold by weight) or for transportability or more likely both.
Love this video. Watsonville California is the Artichoke Capital of America. I’ve been trying for years to grow my own. I know they grow here. The small varmints don’t allow the plants to establish. I use CANNED Artichokes in water to get my Artichoke fix. Your videos always leave us hungry! Damn! Does Ava know anything about an Italian Town named Supino? East of Rome and a little South. I learned my Italian Cooking Skills working as a Busboy in a family Italian Restaurant in Detroit named Stromboli’s. I am Polish 100% but my heart is Italian! Love!
Frankly those artichokes are HUGE for what you did to them. You can buy them in Italian Food Shops all over NYC metro which includes NJ and CT. In Arizona, not so much
24:31 this is how I make my artichokes 😋
Carciofi alla parmigiana is wonderful, but cardone alla parmigiana is even better.
Mmmm artichokes – in California we ate them a lot, but as Harper described, it’s a lot of work- we dipped the petals into vinaigrette
Sweet video 😻
We live in Ireland and have a two acre small holding with a large vegetable garden. We have grown artichokes (Globe and Jerusalem) for years and enjoy them thoroughly. The choke (inedible part in the middle) develops over time and so the younger the globes the better they will cook. If left too long you can steam them and remove the choke and eat or preserve the soft fruit underneath the choke. These also make an interesting addition to a salad.
Artichokes in USA SUCK!!!
This was exactly what I needed, thanks!
In Catalonia we grill them and eat them with all i oli, garlic and oil sauce.
non è una ricetta per chi vive in appartamento, ma il modo migliore per cuocere i carciofi è sulla brace. Carcofi arrosto.
Can you use any sauce with these?
What happens to the leaves?