Recipe - Carciofi Alla Giudia

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Deepfried Artichokes,
Jewish Style

INGREDIENTS
4 small Artichokes
One half Lemon
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Plain bread crumbs, spread
over aluminum foil
Vegetable oil; for frying

Cut off half of each artichoke stems. Remove and discard all outer green
leaves until you reach the white central cone. At this point, you will see
that threequarters of the leaves are white and the tip of the cone is pale
green. Slice off the green top.

With a small knife, trim off the outer green part of each artichoke's green
bottom.

Gently open each artichoke with your hands and remove the fuzzy choke with
a spoon or melon scooper. Rub the lemon over the cut edges of the
artichokes and season them inside with salt and pepper. Gently open the
artichoke leaves as far as they can go without breaking them off, and
holding the artichokes by their stems, press the open leaves into the gread
crumbs to coat lightly.

Heat two inches of oil in a mediumsize saucepan over medium heat to 250F
to 257F. Lower the artichokes into the oil and cook about 10 minutes. Turn
the artichokes a few times to they will fry evenly. Lower the heat if the
artichokes turn golden too fast. With a thin knife, prick thier bottoms to
test for doneness. They are done when they can be easily pierced. Transfer
the artichokes to peper towels to drain. (The artichokes can be prepared up
to this point severl hours ahead.)

Just before you are ready to serve them, pour two inches of oil in another
mediumsize sacuepan over mediumhigh heat. When the oil is very hot, but
not smoking, about 375F, carefully add one artichoke. With two long wooden
spoons, or a long tong, hold the artichoke openface down, pressing the
leaves gently against the bottom of the pan to open them further. Hold the
artichoke in that position for about 30 seconds. Transfer the artichoke to
peper towels to drain. Repeat with the other artichokes. The second frying
should take no longer than 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle them lightly with salt
and serve hot.

From: Trattoria Cooking

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini