06 Mar Coal roasted artichokes
While walking on the street, you will come across some smoke: you don’t need to worry at all!
It means that they are preparing coal roasted artichokes on the typical “fornacella” (barbecue).
The whole artichoke is filled with a bit of garlic, parsley and some olive oil and then cooked on coals. They are served in aluminum trays wrapped in aluminum foils. Each tray contains 6-8 coal roasted artichokes. The price of one containers may vary from 8 to 12 euros depending on the time of the year (prices of fresh artichokes change), on the quality of the artichoke itself, on its dimension and also on the quality of olive oil used.
Many sellers have their booths along these streets and many families enjoy it. Our favorite seller is just a few meters away from the entrance gate.
How to get there: exit the gate, walk straight on for 150 meters and there you are! Pasquale, the owner, is there waiting for you on the left side of the street! He is a bit more expensive than any other (1 or 2 euro more for tray) but it’s worth it.
Eat your artichokes in the garden or at home. Open the artichoke and start to eat leaf by leaf. With your hand remove the first leaf and put half of it in your mouth. Grit your teeth and pull the leaf out of your mouth. What you will taste is unbelievable.
External leaves are the roughest: as soon as you get closer to the center the leaves will become softer and easier to eat.
The best part is the so-called “heart”: soft and very tasty. Cut it in half, remove those “little hairs” and enjoy it.
If you don’t want to eat it immediately, remove it from the tray and place it on a plate. Microwave it for some minutes to warm it up. You can eat it until the day after.
Do not to try this at home. It seems to be easy but, it is quite difficult. Moreover, your neighbors won’t be happy about your smoke.
You are lucky to be with us, as you are in the middle of the typical Street Food of this area. Let’s go on this trip together discovering much more.