Rachel Roddy’s recipe for scafata, or Roman spring vegetable stew | A kitchen in Rome
I have written about this – it’s a circular whittle that takes off all the indelible parts – the dark outer leaves and tips, and the outer layer of the base and stem – and turns the head of the artichoke, with its armour-like cladding, into a small, naked tulip: a shock if you are used to admiring and cooking artichokes whole, then eating them leaf by leaf.
But such trimming renders artichokes entirely edible, so they can be cut into wedges and simmered into velvet softness, with a singular taste that is somewhere between mushroom, asparagus and celery.If you are serving it with ricotta, you could whisk it with a tablespoon each of milk and parmesan and some freshly grated lemon zest, which makes a soft cream to blob on each bowlful.Typical of Lazio in spring, scafata is somewhere between a soup and a nicely oily stew, and is best served at room temperature with a spoonful of seasoned ricotta and a big pile of garlic and olive oil toast.In a large, heavy-based pan, warm the oil, then gently fry the spring onion and celery with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes, until translucent and soft.Serve the stew at room temperature with the seasoned ricotta and some toast rubbed with garlic and zig-zagged with olive oil on the side.