L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano H e r e i n U m b r i a s p r i n g d o e s n o t w a n t t o a r r i v e t h i s year: it's cold and wet. The countryside however, is dot- ted with marvelous flowers. Wisterias and lilac adorn edges and walls, cherry and almond trees look like heav- enly clouds. Poppies make their first appearance on the side of the road. It's magnifi- cent even under the rain. And, of course, one can't forget one of Italy's favorite spring flowers. The a r t i - chokes. Crunchy on the outside, tender inside, homemade f r i e d a r t i c h o k e s a r e a unique delicacy. Italians love artichokes and only ever eat them young and tender. A fresh artichoke should be bright and unblemished, with the leaves tightly packed. Eating mature artichokes dipped in a sauce is quite unusual in Italy. Here, young artichokes are fried, braised, roasted and added to pasta, risotto, frittata, sformato and meat dishes. Lamb with arti- chokes is a traditional Easter LETIZIA MATTIACCI dish which is popular all over Central Italy. It's to die for. Cleaning artichokes requires a little practice but young flowers are easier to handle. If the flower starts to open, the artichoke will be full of choke and the leaves will be stringy and tough. Please, don't even try to cook them, they will be disappointing. I l i k e t o f r y a r t i c h o k e s using rice flour which makes them incredibly light and crispy, somewhat like a tem- pura. Ingredients (Serves 4 as a small appetizer) • 4 young artichokes • juice of 1/2 lemon • oil for deep frying • 2/3 cup rice flour Prepare a bowl of water large enough to hold the arti- chokes and add the lemon juice to acidify. Start cleaning by pulling off the lower petals until only the pale ones remain. Peel and shorten the stems leaving about 5 cm (2 inch- es). Using a sharp knife, cut off at least 1 cm (1/2 inch) of the top of the artichoke and trim the sides in a conical shape to remove all the dark- green fibrous parts. Cut each artichoke length- w i s e i n t o 8 w e d g e s a n d remove the fuzzy choke and the fibrous tips -if present - using a small paring knife. Make sure to work quickly otherwise the artichokes will darken. As soon as the artichoke wedges are ready, transfer them into the bowl of lemon water to preserve their color. Drain the artichokes in a c o l a n d e r a n d p a t d r y . Meanwhile heat up the oil in a frying pan. Transfer the artichokes into a re-sealable plastic bag, add the flour and shake to coat all of the wedges. I pre- fer rice flour not only because i t i s g l u t e n - f r e e b u t a l s o because it's crispier when fried. Remove from the bag, shake off the excess flour and deep fry in plenty of hot oil until pale golden. Drain well on paper towels and season with salt, enjoy immediately. L e t i z i a M a t t i a c c i i s a cookbook author and owner of Alla Madonna del Piatto C o o k i n g S c h o o l a n d A g r i t u r i s m o i n A s s i s i , U m b r i a , h t t p s : / / i n c a m - pagna.com. This recipe has been previously published in M r s . M a t t i a c c i c o o k b o o k entitled "A Kitchen with a view." Deliciously light fried artichokes (Photo courtesy of Letizia Mattiacci) LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Light as a feather fried artichokes

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