I am very surprised fresh artichokes are already in the market in Rome. Here on the island of Kea (Cyclades, Greece), although we are further south and have more sun, our artichokes have only leaves. Not even the beginning of a bud... Maybe these Roman artichokes are a very different kind. Your recipe is GREAT, that's how I make my artichoke pasta. Only instead of pecorino, I sprinkle with crumbled feta at the end.
Aglaiak
The recipe was a little bit confusing with the artichoke, I wasn't sure what size artichoke to get, so I went with medium and couldn't fit it in the pan.
For anyone wanting to make this dish, it takes a while, getting together with family and friends to make it is a fun experience and helps things move along faster. All the effort is definitely worth it, this dish tastes delicious, not too many ingredients to make it too difficult, and all the flavors come together very nicely! The cheese and artichoke I must say are what ultimately makes the taste come out.
Hi Ben! The artichokes here are gi-normous, I must say! Much bigger than the ones I am used to back in the States, which are probably more like to the ones you used. The first couple of times I have made this dish, I did it a la minute, and by cooking the artichokes a bit first, then adding the leeks, they softened up pretty fast with the lid on. But cooking them ahead of time can work too.
I had some friends over for dinner a few nights ago and wanted to cut down on my in-the-kitchen exile; an hour or so ahead of time, I sauteed the artichokes in a bit of olive oil, then added a bit of water and the lid to cook them through, and set them aside. I picked up the rest of the recipe by cooking the leeks, and added the chokes back to the pan when I added the lemon. It worked fine that way, so if anyone wants to break the recipe up in the same manner, go for it...
Gina - just went through all the steps and I'm not posting with everything in my belly. I must say it was great - not the type of meal I typically cook in my kitchen. And even though there was no meat, the artichokes here are clearly the star of the show and their flavor shone through with a perfect balance of the other flavors. I must say, due to it being a somewhat obscure item, I did not implement the leek, but rather just did with the lemon/artichoke combo with the addition of some hot peppers and spices.
For the most part everything came out as it should have. My only self-criticism was that I perhaps should have let the chokes steam a bit more since they still had some tougher/chewier regions when I sat down with it.
Oh, and I don't know how relevant it was, but I cooked this dish in Spain - and the artichokes I got were the smaller ones, not the larger ones more common in the US.
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Website: http://www.keartisanal.com
Location: Kea, Cyclades, Greece
About: I cook, write and photograph. Some people come and share the experience...
Favorite foods: Olive-oil fried locally grown potatoes, with yogurt and feta cheese
Last bite on earth: Olive-oil fried locally grown potatoes, with yogurt and feta cheese