How to Cut an Artichoke, the Roman way.
Early in the morning at Campo de Fiori, aside from arranging the fresh produce, the vendors are busy trimming the seasonal favourite of Italians: the artichoke. While both small and large artichokes are available whole, the trimmed artichokes, ready to cook, are also on offer.
This is how they do it in Rome: trim the outer tough leaves and thorns, pull out the fibrous choke and then rub vigorously with half a lemon so that they don’t brown. In Venice, however, instead of rubbling the artichoke with lemon, they plunge the trimmed artichokes in cold water.
Here’s the video, unedited, capturing the dexterity of the vendor and the commotion at the morning market.