Artichoke…don´t forget that I am flower!
Deep fried artichokes, Jews Roman Style.
There are just two special ingredients for this simple amazing recipe: roman artichokes and olive oil (a lot).
The roman artichokes have a big, short and firm flower. This is not a cheap recipe, sometimes we think that an important dish is made of meet or fish but this is not true.
You need good quality ingredients for an amazing dish. If you bring this at the table you will surprise all your guest.
Ingredients (for 2):
- 2 big Roman artichokes
- 1/2 lt olive oil
- 1/2 half lemon
- salt
- pepper
Trim the artichokes (remove the first leaves all around, and cut the harder top of the flower), peel the stalks. Keep the artichokes in the acidulated water (water with lemon juice) for at least 10`.
Remove them from the water, keep it on a dish cloth until they will drain. Then dry them and and beat them against each other to ensure that the leaves start to open.
In the meantime, heat a pot (should be 15cm diameter x 20 cm height) with all the olive oil.
Deep the artichokes and then leave them in hot, but not boiling (140/150 ° C will be fine). Cook them for 10-15 minutes until a fork would be able to penetrate into the flower base.
Keep them on a tray upside down for 20´ so the artichokes will cool and loose the excess of oil. Then open the flower petals so they will seem a blown flower.
Now, season the inside of the artichokes with salt and plenty of pepper and let them rest for a few minutes and sprinkle with water before to dip them again in the oil.
Raising the temperature slightly but being careful not to burn them. Take them out after about 1 minute and put them to dry on a paper towel.
Serve hot and enjoy it with a dry sparkling white wine.
Good Nettle!
We all experienced the nettle as a bad plant. I think everyone as a kid has ran into it and then after that learned and remembered quickly to don´t touch it anymore.
But maybe not everyone as also tried how good nettles can be.
In Italy we have several dish made with this herb but it was the first time to me to try it out. So Andrea and I decided to make the “Gnocchi all´ortica e ricotta”, for the recipe click here.
The smell of this leaves when you boiled them is simply wonderful.
To make this dish a culinary experience I suggest you a good quality sheep ricotta.
The marinated tomatoes are simply perfect to give the special twist to this simple dish.
At the beginning it will be a little bit complicated to shape it but with a little of patience you will make it and you will become a real expert on the last one.
Spring is here.
Sweden is beautiful but it is even more when the sun is shining.
All the lilac´s bushes are in flower now. The scent of this flower is fulfilling the air
All around the nature is exploding.
In the park you need to watch out for the geese that are looking after their gosling and they are pretty busy to keep the other predator away… I can be a predator for them, so sometime I had to change my way.
Coming back from my little stroll in the park I was hungry and I wanted something fresh and easy and…fast to do.
So I prepared a spinach salad with Kalamata olives, feta, Italian gold tomatoes, spring onions and black bread.
With the sun shining trough the windows everything looks so beautiful. Don´t you think?
