Carciofi!

Apologies to those who don't like artichokes, but the next few posts are devoted to this huge, edible flower.

My cousin who lives in the countryside just outside Rome got married a couple of weeks ago and my mom and I went, extending the trip by a couple of days on either end to allow time for Roman indulgences. Little did I know (until my cousin made a passing remark about it), that we were in the midst of artichoke fever. The farmland to the north of Rome is famous for it's roman globe artichokes and we just happened to be in town for the famous Sagra del Carciofo Romanesco (Roman Artichoke Festival) in nearby Ladispoli. The artichoke season runs from late January/early February until late May. Taking advantage of their freshness, I ate artichokes every day I was there.

It's a great long street fair and market that leads from the train station all the way down the main drag through town and to the beach at the other end. Many of the side streets are lined with vendors as well. Besides fairly good deals on artichokes (15 for 5 euros) you can buy a Fiat, any household item under the sun, clothes, porchetta (roast pork with fennel - a specialty of Rome and Viterbo), numerous Sardinian stalls selling pecorino sardo and salami... in fact, there were stalls from many regions, selling off their regional specialties.

My favourite part was the artichoke sculptures - the best are below:


Castle on a hill.


Baby cradle.


Artichokes ahoy.


Butterchoke.