Castroville fried artichokes
Battered artichoke hearts with lemon garlic mayonnaise
AmericanCastroville, near Monterey on California's central coast, grows most of America's artichokes and calls itself the artichoke centre of the world. Roadside stands and the annual artichoke festival sell them crisp-fried, the tender hearts dipped in a light batter and served with lemon and garlic mayonnaise. Small 'baby' artichokes are best, as they have almost no choke. Chef's tip: drop each trimmed artichoke straight into lemon water; cut artichokes turn brown within minutes.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
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Fresh ingredients (4)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Fill a bowl with cold water and squeeze in half the ½ lemon. Snap off the tough outer leaves of the 12 small artichokes until you reach pale yellow ones, trim the stems and cut off the top third, then quarter them. Scoop out any fuzzy choke and drop into the lemon water.
20 minStep 2: Boil the quarters in salted water for 4–5 minutes until a knife slides into the base, then drain and dry very well.
7 minStep 3: Mix the ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp lemon zest and a squeeze from the rest of the ½ lemon for the dip.
2 minStep 4: Heat the 6 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Whisk the 3 ½ oz plain flour, 2 tbsp cornflour, ½ tsp salt, 1 egg and ¾ cup ice-cold sparkling water to a thin batter.
8 minStep 5: Dip the artichokes in the batter and fry in batches for 2–3 minutes until golden and crisp. A common mistake is frying wet artichokes, which spit and give a soggy coat. Drain, salt and serve hot with the dip.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does castroville fried artichokes take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of lemon?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
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