| 1 | Carciofo all guidia to quote the author, "this is the most famous of all italian jewish foods. |
| 2 | It originated with the roman jews, and owes its fame to having been served at a restaurant in the roman ghetto where it was discovered and quickly adopted by connoisseurs of excellent food all over europe. |
| 3 | Utimately it found its way into many italian cookbooks, my mother, a jewish woman who was born and raised in rome, prepared especially delicious carciofi all guidia (better than you could find in any restaurant!). |
| 4 | I watched her prepare them, and have prepared them myself, practically all my life. |
| 5 | Here in my mother"s technique in detail" trim the artichokes as detailed in "how to clean artichokes- jewish style" and keep them in lemon water till you are ready to use them. |
| 6 | "drain the two artichokes and, holding one in each hand by the stem and bottom, gently hit the leafy parts against each other until the leaves of one open up a little. |
| 7 | Place the opened artichoke, bottom up, on a board or a working surface. |
| 8 | Drain another artichoke from its bath and repeat what you did with the first two, and line up the one that opens next to the last one. |
| 9 | Continue until all the artichokes are opened up. |
| 10 | The last one will have to be tapped against the board. |
| 11 | In a small bowl, combine salt and pepper. |
| 12 | Take one artichoke at a time and sprinkle all over, including between the leaves, with salt and pepper mixture. |
| 13 | Heat the oil in a deep earthenware or similar saucepan. |
| 14 | Cook as many artichokes at a time as fit in one layer over moderate heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bottoms and the sides are well browned. |
| 15 | During the cooking period, sprinkle some cold water over the artichokes to produce steam, so that the inside will be cooked, too. |
| 16 | To do this the authentic way, have a bowl containing cold water near the range. |
| 17 | Dip your closed fist in the water and then open it forcefully over the roasting artichokes. |
| 18 | Repeat sprinkling several times. |
| 19 | When all the artichokes are done, transfer them to a plate, bottom side down to keep the moisture in.* pick them up at the bottom with a fork and dip them, one by one in the hot oil again, pressing the leaves to the bottom of the pan. |
| 20 | The artichokes will open up like roses and the leaves will become golden and crisp. |
| 21 | Serve immediately. |
| 22 | Note: although traditionally carciofi alla giudia are served piping hot, they are delicious at room temperature. |
| 23 | *up to this point you may prepare the artichokes several hours ahead of time and keep them, bottom side down, so that they do not lost their moisture. |
| 24 | Should they become too dry, sprinkle some cold water on them when reheating and press the leaves down against the bottom of the pan. |
