My first experience with baby artichokes I remember was a messy and painful one.  After the first ten or so I figured out that the top was the part that was where most of the sharp needles were, so I made that my first cut then moved on to peeling off the leaves.  These little guys haven’t developed their fuzzy center yet so peeling off the outer leaves and peeling a layer or two off of the stem is all you need to do.

Artichokes oxidize very quickly so I filling a container with water and lemon juice (2-3 lemons) proves to prevent the browning.

We do a Zucchini Blossom appetizer  at Niko’s during the warmer months that we stuff with Manouri and Saganaki Cheese dip them in a beer batter and then pan fry.  With the batter laying around I figured…Why Not?  Beer Battered Artichokes… I boiled the artichokes in Salt Water until tender.


BEER BATTER INGREDIENTS:

2 cups AP FLOUR
1 bottle of BEER
2 EGGS
2 tsp SALT
1 tsp PEPPER
1 tsp PAPRIKA

BEER BATTER METHOD:

1.  Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl add the eggs and let your hand mixer do the work while you slowly pour in the beer.  A thick pancake batter is what we’re shooting for.

2.  Dip each artichoke into the batter and gently placed them into the hot oil cooking until golden brown on each side.

NUTRITIONAL:

Excellent Source of Potassium and Magnesium

Great Source of Folic Acid

Contains Vitamin C, Copper, Iron, Phosphorus, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Zinc, Pantothenic Acid and Calcium

*Nutritional Data Cited from “The Visual Food Lovers Guide” -Wiley.com