Recipe: Italian Fried Artichokes

ITALIAN FRIED ARTICHOKES

Juice of 1 lemon
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Handful of peppercorns
3 large artichokes, about 1 pound each
Grapeseed or canola oil for deep frying

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot with lemon juice, bay leaves, a teaspoon or so of sea salt and peppercorns. Drop in the artichokes. If necessary, add more water to just cover them. Cook until they are tender but still a little firm to the touch when pierced with a fork at the stem end, about 15 minutes. Remove artichokes from heat with cooking tongs and let them cool slightly.

Remove outer leaves from artichokes, cut off 1/4 inch from stem and tip ends, then cut each heart vertically into 4 pieces. Scoop out and discard the choke and the feathery fibers embedded in the center and refrigerate the pieces.

Fill a wok or deep pan with about 3 inches of oil and heat to sizzling. Deep-fry 2 to 3 artichoke pieces at a time for a few minutes. They will puff up as they cook.

Serve hot, sprinkled with additional sea salt.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish
Adapted from source: The New American Cooking by Joan Nathan