What’s special about these pan-fried artichokes? Obviously, the fact that they’re super tasty, thanks to the speck and grated Parmesan cheese, but also their scenic appearance. Don’t they look just like beautiful flowers?
They’re great as a side dish, appetizer, or even as a light main dish. To speed things up, you can also cook the artichokes in water the day before, then proceed with the second cooking step, which is pan-browning, the next day. This final step takes just over 5 minutes.
If you like artichokes, try these recipes of mine:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
- 6 artichokes
- 1 lemon
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 3.5 oz speck (slices about 1/4 inch thick)
- to taste grated Parmesan cheese
- to taste chives
- to taste pepper
Steps
To prepare the pan-fried artichokes, first prepare a bowl with water and the juice of half a lemon.
Bring plenty of water to a boil in a large pot.
Wear gloves if you want to avoid stained hands after handling the artichokes.
Clean the artichokes by removing all the tougher outer leaves until you reach the more tender central ones, then remove the stem (set it aside for other preparations if desired). Remove about 1 inch or more from the top, depending on the size of your artichokes.
Use a small knife to remove the central choke. As you clean the artichokes, immediately immerse them in the lemon water to prevent browning.
Once all the artichokes are cleaned, salt the boiling water and add the artichokes. Cook them for 8-10 minutes, until they soften. To check if they’re done, pierce the base with a fork.
Drain the cooked artichokes and set them aside to cool.
In the meantime, remove the rind from the speck slices and cut them into strips. Heat a pan with a drizzle of oil and cook the speck for a few minutes until crispy. Remove the speck from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan where you cooked the speck, add 2-3 tablespoons of oil and heat slowly.
Meanwhile, gently open the cooled artichokes like a flower, starting from the outer leaves.
When the oil is hot, place the artichokes in the pan with the stem side up and cook for 2-3 minutes over high heat until the artichokes are slightly browned. Carefully turn them and finish cooking on the other side.
Arrange the pan-cooked artichokes on a serving platter, garnish with crispy speck, grated Parmesan cheese, chopped chives, plenty of pepper, and serve.
