Artichoke Fritters

While channel surfing late-night television a few weeks ago, I came across a Food Network show featuring a couple of guys who own a catering business and had won the channel's Next Food Network Star competition. I believe the duo is known as The Hearty Boys. I've seen a few of their shows, and while I won't make all of their recipes, they do have some interesting ideas for entertaining. This is one of those interesting ideas.

The most laborious part of the recipe is chopping up the canned artichoke hearts, a couple cloves of garlic, and a few green onions. Seriously, that didn't take long at all. The "batter" came together very quickly, and they fried up in just a few minutes. I used a small disher to measure out the batter into the fryer. These only took 3 minutes to cook through in contrast to the 5 minutes the recipe suggests. I didn't make the sauce - I thought it might be a bit much for these nibbles. A little sea salt as soon as they came out of the fryer and a squeeze of lemon just before serving was all they needed. Not difficult to make, very tasty, and great as a side dish, appetizer, or snack.

By the way, a reviewer on the Food Network website did say that she reheated leftovers in a 350 F. oven the next day, and they tasted nearly as fresh as when just made. Good to know!

Artichoke Fritters

vegetable oil
1 (18-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 lemon, to squeeze over fritters
Kosher salt, to sprinkle

Lemon Cream, recipe follows, optional

Pour 3 inches of vegetable oil into a heavy bottomed pot and place over medium heat until a bread cube placed in the oil browns within 1 minute.

Coarsely chop the artichokes (or alternatively crush by hand) and put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic and scallions, milk, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a separate bowl and quickly mix the dry ingredients into the artichoke mix.

Drop the fritters by the heaping tablespoonful into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Work in batches until all the batter is used. Keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve. Immediately before serving, squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over all and hit with a bit of kosher salt. Serve with a dollop of Lemon Cream on top, if desired.

Lemon Cream:

1 cup sour cream
1 lemon, juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Source: Party Line with the Hearty Boys