OK, was visiting a cousin living in San Diego a while back, and we did a little drive up to San Fransisco. During the drive I kept seeing signs for “Fried Artichokes” all over the place. Now, I LOOOOVE artichokes, but Ive never heard that it can be fried.
Can anyone tell me what its like? And even better, suggest any recipes?
Thanks.
I’ve had battered-and-fried artichoke hearts plenty of times. I wonder if that’s what it was?
Come to CastroVille. Near Salinas. They live and die by the fried artichoke.
Deep fried artichokes are scrumptious. Castroville is the artichoke capital of America. There are many restaurants that serve them in that town.
Believe it or not, neither SOAR or epicurious.com had recipes for this. I’d suggest using a beer batter or onion ring batter to coat pre-boiled (¾ cooked) artichoke hearts that have been dredged in a spiced flour. Here’s an off-the-top-of-my-head recipe to try:
Batter:
¾ Cup all-purpose flour
¾ Cup lager beer (not dark or stout)
¾ Tsp salt
Dredge:
¼ Cup White flour
½ Tbs Onion powder
½ Tsp Garlic powder
Pinch of salt
Dash of ground white pepper
1 Can of brined artichoke hearts or crowns (not marinated)
1-2 cups of vegetable oil for frying
Preparation:
Warm oil over low heat. Mix batter ingredients. Fresh beer will produce a fluffier crust but flat beer may be used. Drain artichoke hearts or crowns completely. Lay drained artichokes on paper towels to absorb all moisture. Mix dredge ingredients thoroughly. Take dried artichoke hearts and roll in dredge. Allow to rest on waxed paper for at least five minutes. Bring oil up to frying temperature and dredge the artichokes once more before battering.
Drip a few drops of the batter into the hot oil. It should foam and begin floating immediately. Otherwise the oil is not hot enough to begin the cooking process. Once the oil is hot, take a double dredged artichoke heart and dip it into the batter. Lift it out and very gently drop it into the hot oil. Allow some of the batter on your fingers to drizzle onto the floating artichoke heart to create a “cage” of batter bits. Continue to slowly add more battered artichokes to the hot oil. Do not place too many in the oil at once or it will cool down and halt the frying process. Drain on paper towels and serve with garlic Mayonnaise and cold beer.
Note: Artichokes and asparagus should not be accompanied by wine. White wine interferes with the taste of these vegetables and can produce off flavors.
oh man Zenster… that recipe had me drooling. Must try it. NOW!.
Anyone got any more?
rabbit, here’s an alternative recipe for deep fried artichokes that are fried (basically) whole and not breaded. This pan fried version with bread crumbs and parmesan sounds really yummy, too. We had just plain old steamed artichokes for dinner the other night and they were outrageously delicious – flavorful, succulent and meaty – Mmmm! (Oh, and we had wine with them and it didn’t spoil the taste in the slightest – YMMV, obviously).
Be sure to have a nice garlicky marinara sauce for dipping as well. In a pinch some good seafood sauce (Crosse & Blackwell) may be substituted. Sprinkling the freshly fried artichokes with a little good Parmesan cheese probably wouldn’t hurt either. A third dip could be melted butter with scads of lemon juice, shallots and garlic.