Golden Fried Artichokes

This one requires some explanation.  When I was a child growing up in California, my grandmother lived at the beach near Aptos (down the road from Santa Cruz if you’re not familiar with the area).  This is prime agricultural area, Watsonville for strawberries and beans, berries, etc.  Well down the road a few miles is a town called Castroville.  Castroville is known for basically one thing, they are the world capital for growing artichokes.

As a special treat, we’d go to Castroville with grandma once per year in the peak of the harvest and visit the reastaurant “The Giant Artichoke”.  It has the distinction of having a giant 25 ft. concrete artichoke outside the building and was a magnet for kids like me.  The restaurant is still there today, still serving those beautiful little veggies in any number of ways.  I came across this fried artichoke recipe today and had to share as my grandmother died this year at the age of 91.  It is and will be one of my fondest memories of her to make this trip with my children this summer.

Enjoy the recipe.

• 12 Artichokes, small & tender
• 2 Lemons – juice & rinds
• 1 c Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Egg yolks
• salt to taste
• 1 Lemon – cut into 6 wedges

The best artichokes for this dish are the very small, fresh and tender ones
which have no choke at all and require only a very short cooking
time.

Cut in half lengthwise and cut each half into 3 wedges, keep them in lemon water for no longer than 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge with flour and shake to remove excess. Beat the eggs yolks together.  Heat the oil in a small frying pan. Dip artichokes in beaten egg and fry, a few at a time, in moderately hot oil till lightly browned on all sides. Sprinkle with salt, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve
immediately.