Roman style artichokes are a typical dish of the cuisine from Lazio.
A few, simple ingredients can make the magic, giving you artichokes full of mediterranean aromas and buttery.

Ingredients for 3 persons
6 artichokes
1 lemon
6 cloves of garlic
fresh mint
fresh parsley
fresh lemon thyme
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Time: 45 minutes

Let’s cook!

Prepare a bowl with water and the juice 1/2 lemon.
Put on a pair of gloves if you don’t want to end up with stained fingers. Clean the artichokes by removing the tougher leaves until you see the lighter, more tender ones.
Cut off the hardest part of the stem and, with a thin knife, remove the external part of the peel covering the stem.

As you proceed with the cleaning, rub the artichokes with the other half of the lemon and dip them in the acidulated water, taking care to cover them with a smaller dish in order the keep them under the water and preventing their oxidation.
Gently open the center of the artichoke and remove any stubble with a teaspoon.

Finely chop the herbs. Take the artichokes, dry them with a cloth and rub them with the herbs, distributing them inside the leaves. Put one garlic clove in the middle of each artichoke.

In a high-sided pot put a drizzle of oil with 3-4 peppercorns and a small branch of lemon thyme, let them gently warm up.
When the oil starts to sizzle, add the artichokes upside down. Give it a round of pepper and salt and let it golden for a couple of minutes.
Add hot water until it reaches for two finger the base of the leaves (more or less a whole glass) cover the pot with a lid and let cook the artichokes for 20-25 minutes, until poking a fork into the stem allows it to penetrate.

Serve them room temperature with more pepper and more fresh parsley if you want.

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