Carciofo alla Giudia e il Ghetto

A typical dish in Rome and part of the culture and the life of every Roman, and probably the most famous dish of Jewish-Romanesque cuisine. The recipe has an ancient origin and is the result of the encounter of different cultures as the Spanish, Sicilian, and Roman Hebrew, with two typical products, artichoke locally called “Cimarolo,” who has distinctive characteristics, the round shape and the absence of thorns, and Lazio’s extra virgin olive oil. Pope Paul IV settled in 1555, with the Cum nimis absurdum bubble, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum_nimis_absurdum) substantial limitations, and obligations for all Jews. All Jewish people were forced to live in places separate from those who professed the Catholic religion. This is how the ghetto of Rome was born, one of the most beautiful districts of the capital. This was also when the Jews of Spain and Sicily were expelled from Isabella di Castiglia in 1492. Spaniards and Sicilians brought their recipes originating from their native territories and their coexistence with the Muslims in Rome. These recipes, merging with the Roman cuisine, gave birth to artichokes fried twice in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, which take on a shape similar to open flowers. It is said that this dish was consumed mainly at the end of the Jewish celebration of Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement and that it was also appreciated by the other Romans who were going to enjoy the ghetto. It was the non-Jewish Romans, in fact, to call these artichokes “to judgment” and “to Judea.”

Fontana delle Tartarughe in Piazza Mastai nel Ghetto di Roma