Carciofi alla giudìa (; literally "Jewish-style
artichoke
The globe artichoke (''Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green articho ...
s") is among the best-known dishes of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
.
[Malizia (1995), pg. 54] The recipe is essentially a deep-fried artichoke, and originated in the Jewish community of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, ''giudìo'' being the
Roman dialect term for Jew. It is a speciality of the
Roman Ghetto
The Roman Ghetto or Ghetto of Rome ( it, Ghetto di Roma) was a Jewish ghetto established in 1555 in the Rione Sant'Angelo, in Rome, Italy, in the area surrounded by present-day Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Lungotevere dei Cenci, Via del Progres ...
, where it is served by Jewish restaurants in the springtime. In English the dish is usually referred to with the standard
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
spelling Carciofi alla giudea;
[David, pp. 164–5][Gray and Rogers, p. 146][Davidson, p. 36: ''carciofini alla giudea''] this spelling may be found in Italian sources as well,
[Cervellati p. 95] but the Roman dialect name is much more commonly used.
Preparation
Artichokes of the ''Romanesco'' variety, which are harvested between February and April in the coastal region northwest of Rome between
Ladispoli
Ladispoli is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It lies about west of Rome, on the Mediterranean Sea.
History
Modern Ladispoli includes the site of the ancient '' Alsium'' at nearby Palo Laziale, the po ...
and
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
, are the best for this dish.
[
The artichokes are cleaned with a sharp knife, eliminating all the hard leaves with a spiral movement.][ They are then beaten together to open them. The artichokes are left for some minutes in water with lemon juice (this prevents them from becoming black), then seasoned with salt and pepper and ]deep fried
Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...
in olive oil.[ The last touch consists in sprinkling a little cold water on them to make them crisp. At the end they look like little golden sunflowers and their leaves have a nutty crunchiness. They are eaten warm.][Malizia (1995), pg. 55]
Kashrut
In 2018, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared that artichokes are not kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
, since the dense leaves could conceal non-kosher insects. This sowed consternation among Roman Jews, who resisted the declaration, argued that the artichokes used for this signature dish have leaves so tight that insects cannot enter, and emphasized the importance and deep cultural roots of the dish for the Italian Jewish community.
See also
*Jewish cuisine
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions ce ...
*List of Jewish cuisine dishes
Below is a list of dishes found in Jewish cuisine.
Traditional Ashkenazi dishes
Ashkenazi Jews are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland in the west of Germany. Ashkenazim or Ashkenazi Jews are literally referr ...
*Roman Cuisine
Roman cuisine comes from the Italian city of Rome. It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from the Roman Campagna.Boni (1930), pg. 13. These include peas, globe artichokes and fava beans, shellfish, milk-fed lamb and goat ...
*Italian Jews
Italian Jews ( it, Ebrei Italiani, he, יהודים איטלקים ''Yehudim Italkim'') or Roman Jews ( it, Ebrei Romani, he, יהודים רומים ''Yehudim Romim'') can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in I ...
* Carciofi alla romana
References
Sources
*
*Cervellati, Alessandro (1973). ''Bologna futurista'' (in Italian). Bologna: A cura dell'Autore.
*David, Elizabeth (1987). ''Italian Food''. London: Barrie & Jenkins . (1st: London: Macdonald, 1954)
*Gray, Rose, and Ruth Rogers (1995). ''The River Cafe Cookbook''. London: Ebury Press.
*
*Davidson, Alan (1999). ''The Oxford Companion to Food''. Oxford: University Press.
External links
Carciofi alla Giudia
Italian Recipe Of Jewish-style Artichokes (Carciofi alla Giudia)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carciofi Alla Giudia
Cuisine of Lazio
Jewish cuisine
Jews and Judaism in Italy
Italki Jews topics