The Sun on the Artichoke

La storia di questo piatto

No canonical tradition carries this name; it is a home-style reading of Roman-leaning flavors, where artichokes, lemon zest and wild mint have long belonged to the table of Lazio. Here the artichoke becomes a small sun, golden at the edges, resting among chickpeas.

Ingredienti

• 600 g frozen artichokes, quartered or in wedges
• 360 g cooked chickpeas, drained (for the stew)
• 120 g cooked chickpeas, drained (for the crispy part)
• 2 piece untreated lemon
• 20 g fresh mint (mentuccia)
• 75 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 clove garlic
• 250 ml water for cooking
• 6.5 g fine salt
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Preparazione

1. Thaw the 600 g of artichokes in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight), then drain them and dry them carefully with a cloth: thawing water is the enemy of browning, as it makes them boil instead of brown. They are already cleaned, so no lemon bath is needed. If the wedges are very large, halve them.
2. In a wide saucepan pour 45 ml of oil, add the 2 crushed garlic cloves and heat over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, until the oil is fragrant without the garlic taking color: if it darkens it becomes bitter. Raise to medium-high heat, add the artichokes with 2 g of salt and let them cook 4-5 minutes, turning them occasionally. They are ready when the edges are golden and you smell a sweet hazelnut aroma. Don't overdo it: they are already partly cooked and will fall apart.
3. Add the 360 g of chickpeas, the 250 ml of water and 3 g of salt, then grate over half the zest of one lemon, only the yellow part, since the white part tastes bitter. Cover, lower to low heat and cook for 8-10 minutes. At the end the artichokes should just yield to the fork tip without falling apart, and the liquid should have reduced to a creamy sauce. In the last 2 minutes mash about ten chickpeas against the side of the saucepan with the back of a spoon: the starch binds the base and makes it velvety.
4. While the stew cooks, heat 15 ml of oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Dry the 120 g of chickpeas carefully with a cloth, since water is the enemy of crispiness, add them to the pan and cook 8-10 minutes, shaking often. They are ready when they crackle, have a golden crust and, when you shake the pan, sound dry like small pebbles. Turn off the heat, add 1.5 g of salt and set aside: they provide the contrast between crispy and creamy.
5. With the heat off, pour into the stew the juice of both lemons (about 80 ml, but start with half, taste and adjust: frozen ones have less vibrancy and handle more acidity than fresh ones), 15 ml of raw oil, the pepper and 15 g of mint torn by hand, which releases its fragrance right away. The mint should be added only now: cooked for long it would have a tired aroma. Stir gently and let rest covered for 2 minutes so the flavors blend. Taste and correct: if it seems flat add a splash of lemon, if it is bland a pinch of salt (the list calls for 6.5 g in total, so make the final adjustment sparingly). Serve in hot deep plates topped with the crispy chickpeas, the remaining lemon zest and the rest of the mint (5 g) torn fresh.