I have been obsessed with Carciofi alla Giudia since my first bite at the now defunct Al Fontanone in Rome way back in 2005. But once the pandemic ebbs, my next trip will probably include Rome, and I want me some more of that.
Please share your restaurant suggestions for a great Carciofi alla Giudia, and thank you for assuming/pretending that our favorite places are waiting for us in the future.
We had the best on a food tour that included the Jewish section of Rome (the old ghetto). Honestly, can’t remember which restaurant and not sure it matters given the changes brought about by the pandemic. See this https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2018/12/jewish-ghetto-rome/ I’ve tried making them at home and it’s a messy labor of love. And have not found any worth having in my US travels (anybody know of any?)
Almost any restaurant in Rome, but only December through May. Fresh artichokes are seasonal and they are the best for alla Giudia as well as alla Romana.
Alan - I too have not been able to find a decent Carciofi alla Giudia in the USofA, and believe me, I have tried!
Thanks Laurel. IMHO, the alla Giudia is way better than the Alla Romana.
I too am obsessed with Carciofi alla Giudia. In fact our guide Michaela (jewishroma.com) who was referenced in the previous link took us to her favorite restaurant in the Ghetto. We've been there on a couple visits to Rome. The artichokes were delicious. I don't recall the name but it was about a block on the same side as the Jewish Bakery. We were planning a return to Rome in September and will miss the Carciofi Alla Giudia. I also recommend the Pizza Ebraica from the Kosher Bakery- Pasticceria Boccione. It's a delicious fruit pastry.
Trattoria Da Enzo al 29
Alan--
Thanks for the link to the article. Interesting reading.
First trip to Rome in October 2010, we ordered carciofi alla Giudia at the famed Da Giggetto. It was good not great, maybe a tad greasy, and I haven't tried any since, although I've been back to Rome a couple times.
The dish that was mind-bending at Da Giggetto, however, was bucatini all' Amatriciana. Really only five ingredients in the sauce, and that does NOT drench the bucatini like the Americans do: San Marzano tomatoes, Pecorino Romano cheese, red pepper, olive oil, and guanciale. I've made it at home & cannot reproduce how great this dish was.
Sadly, everything else at Da Giggetto was fair to terrible. That's how it goes...
Piperno in the Jewish ghetto. The artichoke comes out flattened on a big plate, the leaves easy to shatter. I went into the heart to see what it's like and the waiter admonished me to eat the good stuff first. The place is pretty formal and not cheap; I was there for a business lunch. Still, it was a terrifice old-Rome experience.
We had it in Rome at Bagetto Milky in the Jewish Quarter, so delicious. We were in Rome late December to early January this year.
I've made it at home & cannot reproduce how great this dish was.
Did you take the tomatoes out of the bowling water, to tear them apart using your bare hands? If the chef doesn't get second-degree burns it doesn't work.
Another, more serious, problem may be the pasta. If the package instructions say to boil if for is less than ten minutes it's not a great brand and probably they do not use only durum wheat to make it. Artisan pasta from Gragnano must be boiled for 17 minutes, but there are good industrial products in between.
Thank you all for your suggestions. I hope Michaela likes Texans!
You can't go wrong with Michaela. She is a wonderful guide. We did several walking tours with her. We recommended her to several friends.
I've made it at home & cannot reproduce how great this dish was. (bucatini alla Amatriciana)
Did you take the tomatoes out of the bowling water, to tear them apart
using your bare hands? If the chef doesn't get second-degree burns it
doesn't work.Another, more serious, problem may be the pasta. If the package
instructions say to boil if for is less than ten minutes it's not a
great brand and probably they do not use only durum wheat to make it.
Artisan pasta from Gragnano must be boiled for 17 minutes, but there
are good industrial products in between.
Dario--
OK, I use imported canned San Marzano tomatoes, and DeCecco bucatini, which is always stiff even when cooked, I think at least 12 minutes. And then it's not easy to find guanciale here in the States, mostly artisan stuff, but I've used really good pancetta and it's fine. Yes, you MUST use true Pecorino Romano--no substitute.
My version is good, just not tremendous. And I have been know to throw a bit of fresh, flat parsley in there.
Jay I’m sure it’s great. For years I used a brand of canned tomatoes I was sure were San Marzano. They have plum tomatoes on the label with an SM on them. Reading closely I realized these are grown and canned in the US. The only brand I can find that are the real deal is Cento. Recently at Whole Foods I found Rao’s (the restaurant in NY that you can’t get into) has canned tomatoes. These are grown in Southern Italy, not labeled San Marzano. But they are packed in a tomato purée. I find the taste to be really good. I think Decceco is good pasta. The artisanal brands are fine but Decceco is widely available although bucatini can be hard to find. Penne works. I tend to use a generous pinch of chili flakes, probably more than most.
And I have been know to throw a bit of fresh, flat parsley in there.
Can you understand Italian movies? A job interview for an housekeeping position in Rome in the 50s...
Re the difference between Gigetto's and yours Amatriciana, may it be due to the sauce made with fresh tomatoes?
Sorry, gang, for the hijack. But this is part of Roman cuisine too!
Can you understand Italian movies? A job interview for an housekeeping
position in Rome in the 50s...Re the difference between Gigetto's and yours Amatriciana, may it be
due to the sauce made with fresh tomatoes?
HAHAHA! Dario, I can pick up some but not all of the dialogue. If I sit down with it for awhile, I'll get it all. But the Paul Sorvino-looking character is talking about guanciale from 'the cheek'. Excellent little clip.
Yes, fresh tomatoes could have something to do with it. Next time I'll use them, and we'll see! Gracie!
I don't consider it a "hijack" - it's a conversation that is not about refunds or pandemics. And for that I am truly thankful.
Thanks, EP--wise words from a true Dead fan!
One thing that brings Rome back to me occasionally are the spice blends I brought back from Campo de' Fiori. The vendor has been there for years, displaying the blends in big wooden barrels. And staying at an apartment overlooking the piazza for a week I was able to shoot the bull with them pretty much daily, which is one of the qualities I love about Rome. It's fairly easy to strike up a conversation with just about anybody, either in English or my broken Italiano.
And last trip (February 2017) I had them shrink-wrap four blends for me--Bolognese, Carbonara, Amatriciana & Puttanesca. I gave some away--bought WAY too much--in fact, at customs at O'Hare, they opened my carry-on bag, saw what looked like bags of very interesting weed, but the guy looked at me, I said 'spices', he smiled and said 'ahh, this is the good stuff?' 'Absolutely.' And he let me through. I transferred it to freezer bags when I got home, and believe me, they still hold their punch after 3+ years, making my gravies as authentic as possible.
I don't want to know which spices he sold you for the carbonara. Just... no.
Yeah, Dario, haven't used that blend yet for making Carbonara, just in other stuff. Seems to include dried onion, parsley & a few other things of unknown origin. On the barrels at the market, there are the ingredients of the blends that I photographed, but can't find them now.
Spaghetti alla Carbonara is another indigenous Roman dish that when made correctly, is incredible. Had some last trip at Pizzeria Emma (owned by the Roscioli family of Forno bakery and salumeria fame) and it's simply eggs, guanciale, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper. Never had a version in the States that wasn't at least somewhat gluey. At Emma it was mind-bending, so good.
You wonna know How I spent the lockdown? Watching and re-watching these videos by bored Italian chefs teaching how to make the basic recipes:
https://video.lastampa.it/tuttigusti/iorestoincucinaconlastampa-la-carbonara-secondo-lo-chef-stellato-lele-usai/111847/111855?
Note that he uses a professional (i.e. thick) steel bowl, if you try to copy him using the Ikea's bowl you'll get an hemispherical omelette in 5 seconds.
Been there, done that: let the hot water cool down a little before putting the bowl on the pot.
Usai's dish doesn't gets gluey because he adds in the iron bowl just the right amount of melted pig fat and just a little amount of the water he used to cook the pasta.
3 + years. Jay, you’ve inspired me to dig to the back of the fridge. My small glass jar of Salsa Tartufata dating from 2008 still happily abides within. I kept saving it for a special dish. I’m not sure when it petrified but it’s still a happy memento of our month in Italy.
I've eaten Carciofi all Giudia at three different restaurants in the Jewish neighborhood in Rome over the past few years. The best that I've had so far was at Da Giggetto. I have had it a bit oily, elsewhere, but this one (January 2020) was crispy and not greasy at all. Just perfection!
Jay, I didn’t know the spice guys at Campo de Fiori would shrink wrap. Good to know. I love those herbs and have been carefully rationing mine since yearly trip has been cancelled. I always worry that they will be confiscated when I bring them back to the states.
Jay, I didn’t know the spice guys at Campo de Fiori would shrink wrap.
Good to know. I love those herbs and have been carefully rationing
mine since yearly trip has been cancelled. I always worry that they
will be confiscated when I bring them back to the states.
Hey Kathleen!
I misspoke. The spice guys--seem to remember them as North Africans, Tunisians, maybe?--referred me a few feet over to some cheese guys, and said they had a deal--the Roman version of 'one hand washes the other'!--with them that if I bought some cheese from them, they'd individually shrink-wrap the whole works for me. So I did, and they did! I did tip them a couple 2 Euro coins for the added service as we were leaving that day.
RE: confiscation, I was torn between hiding them deep in luggage (where to X-ray they'd look every bit like imported sinsemilla!) or throwing them in my carry-on to be explained at inbound customs at O'Hare, which I did.
Observing these vendors daily over the course of a week was fascinating. I spent at least an hour each morning just wandering with a hot cup of coffee, rapping with them, testing out my fractured Italian, although English worked just fine as well. My wife would be asleep and thought I was nuts to get up this early to do that! I told her, no, this is why we have come here. And it being February, the market wasn't busy--especially early--and the vendors had plenty of time to converse. Some of them have had their 'spots' for 20 years and longer. Can't wait to return.
Thanks jmauldinuu, that looks like a great place.
