Insalata di carciofi
A Roman spring salad worth buying artichokes for: raw artichoke hearts shaved paper thin, with flakes of parmigiano, olive oil and lemon. Raw artichoke tastes nutty and faintly bitter, quite unlike cooked. Two conditions: the artichokes must be very young and fresh, with no fibrous choke, and every slice goes straight into lemon water, since it blackens within seconds.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Trimming the artichokes 20 min
- Slicing 5 min
- Assembly 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePrepare lemon water
Fill a bowl with cold water and squeeze in the juice of one lemon, dropping in the halves. Every piece of artichoke goes in here the moment it is cut — artichokes blacken in air faster than apples.
Ingredients: 8 pcs young artichokes · 2 pcs lemons · 1000 ml water · 60 g parmigiano · 40 g rocket · 6 pcs mint
Peel down to the pale leaves
Snap off the outer leaves until only pale, tender ones remain. Cut off the top third and peel the stem with a small knife. A raw salad needs only the most delicate heart — tough leaves are inedible.
Ingredients: 8 pcs young artichokes · 2 pcs lemons · 1000 ml water · 60 g parmigiano · 40 g rocket · 6 pcs mint
Only pale, tender leaves — the rest is inedible.Scoop out the choke
Halve the artichoke and scrape out any choke with a teaspoon. Young artichokes have little or none. The choke is prickly and in a raw salad spoils every bite.
Ingredients: 8 pcs young artichokes · 2 pcs lemons · 1000 ml water · 60 g parmigiano · 40 g rocket · 6 pcs mint
Shave paper thin
Slice the halves on a mandoline 1 mm thick, straight into the lemon water. The most important step: thicker slices of raw artichoke are tough and stringy, thin ones crisp and delicate.
Ingredients: 8 pcs young artichokes · 2 pcs lemons · 1000 ml water · 60 g parmigiano · 40 g rocket · 6 pcs mint
A millimetre, straight into lemon water — or they blacken.Drain and dry thoroughly
Just before serving drain the slices and dry them thoroughly in a cloth. Water on the artichokes dilutes the oil and the salad turns bland. Do not do it earlier — out of the water they darken fast.
Ingredients: 8 pcs young artichokes · 2 pcs lemons · 1000 ml water · 60 g parmigiano · 40 g rocket · 6 pcs mint
Dress with oil, lemon and salt
Toss the artichokes with three quarters of the oil, the juice of the second lemon, salt and pepper. The oil should be fruity and peppery — in so simple a salad its flavour matters as much as the artichokes'.
Ingredients: 60 ml olive oil · ½ tsp flaky salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Pile on a plate with rocket
Arrange the artichokes in a loose mound on a flat plate, tucking in a few rocket and mint leaves. Mint is the Roman touch — Rome seasons artichokes with mentuccia, wild mint.
Ingredients: 8 pcs young artichokes · 2 pcs lemons · 1000 ml water · 60 g parmigiano · 40 g rocket · 6 pcs mint
Shave parmigiano over
With a peeler shave the parmigiano into wide flakes straight over the salad and drizzle with the remaining oil. Flakes, not grated cheese — large pieces give a salty, crystalline contrast to the delicate artichokes. Serve at once.
Ingredients: 8 pcs young artichokes · 2 pcs lemons · 1000 ml water · 60 g parmigiano · 40 g rocket · 6 pcs mint
Wide flakes, not grated — a crystalline contrast.
Before you start
Young artichokes only
Only very fresh artichokes, firm and heavy in the hand with tightly closed leaves, suit a raw salad — small ones or Roman romanesco. Open, old artichokes have a fibrous heart and plenty of choke — those need cooking.
Gloves for trimming
Artichoke juice stains fingers brown and smells faintly bitter for hours. Wear gloves or rub your hands with lemon first. A small thing, but with eight artichokes it makes a difference.
Eat at once
Raw artichokes darken and soften in the dressing within half an hour. Trim them and hold them in lemon water up to an hour, but slice, dry and dress just before serving.
