“Ne era ghiotto, era uno dei suoi piatti preferiti. Si mangiava tutta la teglia quando gliele facevo.” she said. (He had a weakness for them, it was one of his favorite dishes. He would finish the entire pan whenever I made them for him.)
Externally she might have been sharing the recipe with me, but it was obvious that she was reminiscing about her late husband in an entirely intimate and affectionate way, through his favorite food. Nothing being more tangible perhaps, except the experience itself, than a memory associated with taste and smell.
Honored to have been privy to her memories (and culinary knowledge!), I decided to give it a stab. Incidentally, as usual no measurements were given, so I prepared as best as possible according to her description and what made sense. My final result was good, but not excellent (I used too much oil, and too little salt, garlic, breadcrumbs, and parsely). Next time around I’ll know and it should be better, third time should be a charm and do honor to her recipe.
Here goes:
- Figure half a pound of fresh anchovies and one artichoke per person. (The romanesco artichoke is a local variety found here. After removing the tougher leaves and outer fibrous part of the stem, you eat the whole thing, choke and all.)
- Clean the anchovies of head and spine, and lay them out skin side down in an oil lined baking pan that has been dusted with bread crumbs. Dress with salt, parsley, finely chopped garlic. Add a layer of thinly sliced artichokes, dust again with bread crumbs, and un filo (a string) of olive oil.
- Repeat the above paragraph again to create two layers of the anchovies/artichokes with dressing and breadcrumbs.
- Put in oven at medium heat, about 325-350 deg F (160-180 C) for about 20 minutes, and serve immediately.
This morning Bruno (vegetable stall) who sold me the artichokes asked how it went.
“Ma, cosi cosi. Fatto sta che ho finito comunque tutta la teglia,” I answered. (So-so. That said, I finished the whole pan anyhow.)
I might have never met her husband, but I can safely say we would have agreed on this dish for sure.
-- Contributed by GB (see bio), Editor, Italian Notebook.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:08 pm
My mouth is watering!! I just wish we could get anchovies like the ones in Italy. I know just what you mean about getting the recipes – whenever I would ask how something was prepared they would just say “Facile!” (It’s easy) Aglio, olio, pepperoncini!
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Hai toccato il mio cuore !
This is the type of life story that most reaches the inner soul, how touching and typical of Italians to relate life with food.
And as far as the recipe, you probably will never do it as well, allora.
grazie !
jojo
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:53 pm
My mouth was also watering. Artichokes and anchovies are two of my
favorite food items, but alas, I have diverticuli and cannot partake
of it. Buono appetit
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:58 pm
OK. we are in the piazza just opposite the pescheria. I have printed out the recipe for Donato. We will try it subito. Grazie GB
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Sounds fantastico! Is 20 minutes actually enough time to cook i carciofi or they pre-cooked?
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:07 pm
These carciofi, the romaneschi variety, once “shucked”, become quite small. You are essentially cooking just the tender inside part, so 20 mins should be enough especially given that they are cut into thin slices, cooking even sooner. If you use another variety of carciofo cooking time may need to be adjusted.
Buon appetito!
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Oops. To answer your question, no, not pre-cooked.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Greetings from Tuscany!
I made this today for lunch..used fresh sardines instead and regular artichokes that I bought at the market this morning. I cooked for 25 min at around 325 and the artichokes were fine. When serving a squeeze of lemon and another drizzle of olive oil brought it together. Wonderful.