Carciofi alla Romana (Roman Braised Artichoke Hearts)

This recipe has been on my bucket list for quite a while.

I saw nice big artichokes at Bishop's on Friday. I snagged one, fully aware of the solo mission ahead. (Let's just say, not everyone in my household shares my enthusiasm for these thorny delights.)

I will not name names.

I have to admit, the prep work felt a little wasteful. All those beautiful leaves going to waste! I briefly entertained the idea of stuffing them, but that's a recipe for another time.

Once the artichoke was prepped, the rest was surprisingly straightforward. I did follow this YouTube video on how to clean the artichoke - Cleaning an artichoke

And the result? Absolutely delicious. I was so pleased with how it turned out, and honestly, a little thrilled I didn't have to share.

Would I make it again? Definitely. The recipe, which I found on Serious Eats, was a winner. (It's designed to serve 2-4, but I happily enjoyed it all myself.) I'm already thinking about making it again soon.

Ingredients-

2 whole lemons (for maintaining artichokes' color)

4 large or 12 small artichokes (2 pounds; 1 kg)

1/4 cup (7 g) minced flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano leaves

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method-

Fill a large bowl with water; halve and squeeze 2 lemons into it. 

Trim artichokes by cleaning them down to the hearts, following the guidelines shown here: Using a serrated knife, cut off top of artichoke and bottommost part of stem. Another video on how to clean artichokes - Cleaning an artichoke

Using a paring knife or sharp vegetable peeler, trim away the tough outer leaves to expose the tender inner leaves and heart. 

Trim away fibrous outer layer around stem to expose tender inner core (if stem breaks off, that's okay; just save it and cook it alongside the hearts). 

Using a spoon, scrape out the inedible, hairy choke in the center of each heart. 

Transfer cleaned artichokes to bowl of lemon water as you work, covering them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them completely submerged.

In a small bowl, stir together parsley, mint, oregano, and garlic. 

Rub concave side of each artichoke heart with herb mixture, packing it into any leafy crevices. Set aside remaining herb mixture.

Add olive oil and wine to a pot just large enough to hold all the artichokes closely side by side, so that they can sit flat with their stem sides up. 

Arrange artichokes in pot and season with salt and pepper.

Bring pot to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower heat to a bare simmer, cover, and cook until artichokes are fork-tender, 20 to 30 minutes. (Smaller artichokes may not take as long.)

Remove from heat and transfer artichokes to a platter, stem sides up. 

Drizzle with cooking juices, along with some fresh olive oil and a light sprinkling of reserved herb mixture. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.