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Lightly Fried Artichoke Hearts in Garlic-Herb Batter
This is one of the regional recipes that comes from my
neck of the country! You can find deep-fried artichoke
hearts at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (Northern
California), or the Garlic Festival (Gilroy, California),
or at a few restaurants and Italian delis. I fashioned
this recipe after my memories of the artichoke hearts I
used to look forward to in Santa Cruz – they were battered
in an herb batter, then deep-fried. For this light
version, I whipped up a lighter batter and pan-fried the
artichokes in a little bit of oil.
Makes 5 Servings (about 4 quartered artichoke
hearts per serving)
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2 6-oz. (170 g) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained
(reserve 1/4 cup juice*)
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(about 1 1/3 cup drained artichoke hearts)
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2 tablespoons egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters)
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1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
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3/4 teaspoon Italian herb blend
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3/4 tsp. minced garlic
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6 tablespoons Reduced Fat Bisquick pancake mix
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1 tablespoon canola oil
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Shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
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Finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Combine the artichoke hearts, artichoke heart juice, egg
substitute, pepper, herb blend, and minced garlic in a
medium-sized bowl. Gently stir in the pancake mix to make
a nice batter.
Heat the canola oil in large, nonstick frying pan over
medium-high heat.
Spoon the artichokes, one at a time, into the hot pan
using a slotted spoon, making sure there’s enough batter
surrounding the artichoke hearts to coat them nicely. Fry
until golden brown on the bottom, then flip over and brown
the other side (about 3 minutes a side).
Top the hot artichoke hearts with a sprinkling of Parmesan
cheese and fresh, finely chopped parsley if desired. Serve
immediately.
*Note: If you are using marinated artichoke hearts that
have oil in the marinade, you can spoon off the top layer
of oil, then use a basting bulb to siphon off the juice
from the bottom of the jar.
Recipe from Fry Light, Fry
Right! Fried-Food Flavor Without Deep Frying
By Elaine Magee (Black Dog and Leventhal; October
2004; $12.95/Trade paperback;
ISBN: 1-57912-391-0). |
