There are few foods as closely associated with Italian Jewish cooking as Carciofi alla Giudia or fried artichokes. This delicious dish can be found in any number of Roman restaurants but it is traditionally associated with the Roman Ghetto. Artichokes can be quite tough when cooking normal but this particular way of making them allows the heart, stems and inner leaves to be quite tender.
One Roman restaurant where Carciofi alla Giudia is always on the menu is La Taverna Del Ghetto near the Portico d’Ottavia in Rome. This restaurant, which is also kosher, is a hit with tourists of all religions and ages as it sits on a picturesque street in the old Roman ghetto behind the Synagogue and not far from the Tiber river.
Carciofi alla Giudia can be served as an antipasto or as a side dish. The hardest thing to do is to limit the number that one consumes. Artichokes are in season in the Spring, Summer and Fall. This great blog post from City Cooks gives clear instructions on how to clean and cook them in any fashion.
-Susannah Gold
Posted by radicchioblog 
