Easy
4 people
30 min
Chef Danilo Cortellini
Fried artichokes with Grana Padano mayo and mint
The first time I tried artichokes fried this way I was struck by them. These crispy flowers are so delicious that they make you love artichokes, even if you hated them up until then. Furthermore, once you make them yourself, you realise how easy this recipe is, if you know the right tricks!!
‘Carciofi alla Giudia’ translate as Jewish style artichokes, as it is in fact a Roman-Jewish dish made out of Romanesco artichokes, fried twice following a specific technique that make the thistles open like beautiful flowers and become deliciously crispy.
My humble addition is a lemony homemade mayonnaise flavoured with Grana Padano cheese and fresh mint leaves for extra luxuriousness and a better mouthfeel.
‘Carciofi alla Giudia’ translate as Jewish style artichokes, as it is in fact a Roman-Jewish dish made out of Romanesco artichokes, fried twice following a specific technique that make the thistles open like beautiful flowers and become deliciously crispy.
My humble addition is a lemony homemade mayonnaise flavoured with Grana Padano cheese and fresh mint leaves for extra luxuriousness and a better mouthfeel.
Ingredients
- 600 ml of vegetable oil for frying
- 4 large mammole artichokes
- 1 lemon
- 1 bunch of fresh mint
- Finely grated Grana Padano to sprinkle
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For the Grana Padano mayo:
- 2 eggs
- 50 ml olive oil
- 300 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tsp of mustard
- ½ lemon, juice
- 20 ml of white wine vinegar
- 70/80 gr of finely grated Grana Padano cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
To start, prepare the mayo.
Place the whole eggs with all the ingredients in a jug, except the oil and the Grana Padano. Start to blend from bottom to top then add the veg oil gradually as you blend. Do not over-worry about this step, the chances of splitting the mayo with the hand blender technic are really low.
At this stage, add the finely grated Grana Padano cheese and mix. Season to taste and keep in the fridge.
Now the artichokes.
Trim the stalk leaving about 3 cm intact. Remove the outer leaves until you find paler and tender leaves. Now with a paring knife, trim the side of the chokes where you removed the leaves and peel the part of the stalk still attached to smoothened it out.
With a paring knife, trim the top of the artichokes at a 45 degrees angle, leaving the inner part with taller leaves. At this stage the artichokes should look like roses.
Loosen the still intact artichokes leaves by pressing the artichokes on the board and brush with lemon to prevent them from discolouring.
Now, if you are planning on making lots of artichokes, you can soak them in cold water with lemon juice until you are ready, but make sure to dry them well before frying.
The first cooking is the easiest, simply fry the artichokes at about 140 °C for about 8/10 minutes. They will be golden, and they should start to open a little. Turn them every now and then and pat dry on paper to remove any excess oil.
When cold, gently open the heart of the choke to make sure every leaf has crisped up correctly.
Now bring the oil to 180 and fry one artichoke at a time, keeping it pressed down in the pan, to create the classical Carciofi alla Giudia shape (should resemble an open flower). When golden brown and crispy, drain on kitchen paper and season with salt.
Serve straight away with the Grana Padano mayo, a few leaves of fresh mint and a good sprinkle of grated Grana Padano.
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Chef’s tip
The secret of this recipe is to pick the right artichokes. The best variety are called Mammole, large in size and with tender leaves so not too much waste is produced. A very important step is also to let the artichokes cool between the two cooking stages and open them up gently with your hands. Lastly, my mayo is always made with pasteurised eggs that I pre-cook in a water bath at 64 °C for 45 minutes. It is not essential but will make your mayo last for weeks in the fridge.