Although it's not in season yet, today I bring you the wonderful recipe for artichokes cacio e pepe roasted, which you must make when they're at their best, because it's well worth it. The truth is I love artichokes, no matter how they are cooked. If someone gives me a bouquet of these flowers, they make me the happiest person in the world!
This recipe is a masterful combo of ingredients. The cacio e pepe is a classic of Italian cuisine, a Roman dish in which pasta is accompanied by a creamy sauce made from Pecorino cheese and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. So, as you might have guessed, the artichokes in this recipe will have a good amount of those two ingredients, to which we'll add a few more to round out the result and make the artichokes tender as well as flavorful.
To cook them and serve them at the table, straight from the oven, we will use a festive casserole worthy of the recipe. The Flamee Dorée round casserole Special Centennial Ed. Le Creuset not only is it a beautiful collector's piece, but it is the ideal casserole for roasting the artichokes in the oven, thanks to its excellent heat retention and distribution. It's like having an oven inside the oven.
I assure you that, cooked this way, the artichokes cacio e pepe roasted turn out very tender, aromatic and with an incredible flavor. The result is fabulous, so save the recipe for artichoke season — it's coming soon!
Ingredients
- 4 artichokes
- The juice of one lemon
- Salt
- 1 cup toasted breadcrumbs
- 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons AOVE
- 1/2 cup white wine
- Water (approximately 1.5 or 2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- Grated Pecorino Romano for serving
Preparation
- Heat the oven to 190º C.
- Place fresh water in a large bowl. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and one teaspoon of salt. Stir until it dissolves.
- Cut off the stem of the artichokes and also the tips (about 2 cm, as you see in the video). Trim any protruding tips.
- As you cut them, immerse the artichokes in the bowl with water and lemon so they don't darken. Set aside.
- In another smaller bowl put the breadcrumbs, the grated Pecorino Romano, 2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons of AOVE and one teaspoon of salt. If you use the nutritional yeast, add it at this step as well.
- Mix all the ingredients in the bowl well until the texture is like damp sand. If it becomes too thick, you can add a little more AOVE.
- Remove the artichokes from the bowl and dry them as best you can. Separate the leaves, opening them carefully, and distribute the breadcrumb mixture among the crevices of the leaves.
- Place the artichokes in your Flamme Dorée round casserole Le Creuset. Pour the white wine into the casserole and add the water little by little, until it covers 1/3 of the artichokes.
- Spread the remaining AOVE (4 tablespoons) over the artichokes and season them with a little salt.
- Heat the casserole on the stovetop over medium-high heat. When the liquid starts to boil, turn off the heat, cover the casserole and put it in the oven, taking care not to burn yourself.
- Roast the artichokes in the oven without uncovering the casserole, for about 90 minutes, at 190º C.
- Once the time has passed, take the casserole out of the oven, bring it to the table, uncover it and, before serving the artichokes, sprinkle a little grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top. Done!
Notes
- You may have noticed that one of the ingredients in the recipe is optional. It's the nutritional yeast, which is not related to brewer's yeast, and is a very interesting nutritional supplement that is derived from the fermentation of beet or sugarcane molasses, and which you can find in most large supermarkets. In addition to its many benefits and its high protein and mineral content, it stands out for its "umami" flavor, reminiscent of cheese and nuts, so it works wonderfully in this recipe, adding an extra boost to its flavor.
