Directions

• Fill a large bowl with water; halve and squeeze 2 lemons into it. 
• Start by pulling off the outermost, dark-green leaves to expose the lighter, more tender ones within.
• Then, with a paring knife, slice through each leaf to cut off the top, turning the artichoke in your hand as you go. Your goal is to leave the tender, edible lower portion of each leaf attached, while removing the tough, thorn-tipped tops. With a little practice, you can quickly turn the artichoke, almost as if it’s on a lathe, while the knife just holds steady, slicing through each leaf as it comes around.
• Once you’ve gotten most of the leaves trimmed like this, you can slice through the top portion of the remaining center leaves. The artichoke should look something like a closed rosebud.
• Trim the stem, using either a paring knife or a Y-peeler to remove all the tough green exterior.
• If you’re using baby artichokes, or the thorn-free variety used in Rome (called cimaroli), the artichoke will be ready for cooking and eating at this point. If you have large, thorny artichokes with full chokes in the center, you’ll want to remove those, too, by scooping them out with a spoon. This is easiest after the first frying stage, when the leaves have softened and are ready to be spread open like a flower.
• Once again, you can rub these with lemon if you need to. As each artichoke is done, drop it in your bowl of cold lemon water, and cover with a clean, wet kitchen towel to keep the artichokes submerged.
• If you have a big artichoke already floating in that water, as I did after prepping these for the photos, it’ll look like a mama artichoke with her little brood of baby artichoke-lings. So cute!
• Trimmed artichokes will look like a closed rosebud. Transfer the peeled artichokes to the bowl of lemon water as you work, covering them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them completely submerged.
• In a large saucepan, heat 2 to 3 inches of oil to 280°F. Add artichokes (they should produce a steady but non-violent stream of bubbles) and cook until tender (you should be able to pierce their hearts easily with a fork), adjusting heat to maintain a steady bubble, about 10 minutes for baby artichokes and 15 minutes for larger ones. Turn larger artichokes frequently for even cooking.
• Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer artichokes to a paper towel-line plate. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Using your hands, gently pull open each artichoke “bud” so that it resembles an open flower. If using large artichokes, remove and discard the hair “choke” in the center of the artichoke. Increase oil temperature to 350°F.
• Fry artichokes until browned and crisp, 2 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Season immediately with salt. Transfer to plates and serve right away with wedges of remaining lemon.