When In Rome, Eat Artichokes

We start in Rome.

When in Roma, eat artichokes alla Romana or alla Giudea. You wont regret it.

Alice and I had a Chrismas holiday together with Alice’s brother, Chris. He’d never been to Italy before so we showed him around Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan and Turin. I never get tired of going back to these places. There is always more to explore and discover, especially on a culinary level.

For our first lunch we were directed to Da Tonino, (Via del governo vecchio, 18, 00186 – Roma (RM) Italia Cell.333 5870779 )MAP
A hole in the wall kind of establishment which served good, honest and generous portions of flavoursome  food. In some respects, this first lunch of my holiday was the most memorable, even more than our Christmas lunch. I have simple tastes and I’m a total sucker for food without pretense. I do appreciate talented chefs experimenting with new fusion of flavours  and skillfully presenting dishes, but the simple, the rustic, the humble and the down to earth gets me much more excited.

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Artichoke Bruschetta

Bruschetta con Carciofi

Let’s get one thing straight. Firstly Bruscetta is pronounced, /brusketa/ and not, /brusheta/. I just had to clear that up. Bruschetta is simply toasted or roasted bread, with garlic, olive oil and salt. That’s it. When you start adding anything on top of that it becomes, Bruschetta with …

In this case I am posting two recipes for Bruschetta with artichokes. One is really easy and flexible which I think is pretty good and fuss free. The other is the very traditional Tuscan recipe. The first is completely dairy free, which I prefer, but the Tuscan one is great in it’s own way which I never refused to eat while I lived in Florence.

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Artichokes alla Napolitana

Artichokes in Naples

This is the first Artichoke dish I found in Naples. It’s a side dish, which is very simple and full of flavour. All you need is a few ingredients you’re already likely to have in the fridge. The true Neapolitan recipe calls for green olives. The dish presents a lot better with green olives rather than the black, which I have used. Either way it’s a tasty treatment of the artichoke.

It only take about 30 minutes from the time you start preparing to the time you’re devouring. They can also be served cold which makes them fantastic as an antipasto which you can prepare ahead of time. Read on for the recipe

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Winter Artichoke Salad

Insalata D’inverno

When I shop at the markets I act a little suspiciously around the artichokes stalls. I stand next to older people, almost like a stalker, ready to pounce on them for a recipe. Overwhelmingly, when I do ask someone buying artichokes, how they are going to prepare them, they mostly say, ‘raw in a salad

So here’s a dish form Liguria which is quick, fresh, and healthy and uses all ingredients which you’ll find in season together.

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