Artichoke Fritters With Remoulade Sauce

ARTICHOKE FRITTERS WITH REMOULADE SAUCE
Makes 40

REMOULADE SAUCE
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 tablespoon minced capers
- 1 tablespoon minced cornichons (French gherkin pickles)
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

FRITTERS
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 5 large artichokes
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup ice water
- 1 quart vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Step 1
Make the remoulde sauce: In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, anchovy paste, capers, cornichons, parsley, chives and lemon juice with 1/2 cup of water. Whisk to blend well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Step 2
Make the fritters. Pour the lemon juice into a large nonreactive saucepan with about 2 quarts of water.

Step 3
Trim each artichoke by snapping off the stem; bend back and pull off the tough outer dark green leaves. Using a serrated stainless steel knife, cut off the top two thirds of the artichoke, leaving about 1.5 inches of the heart. Pare away the bases of the dark green outer leaves. As you trim each artichoke, drop immediately into the acidulated water to prevent discoloration.

Step 4
When all the artichokes are in the saucepan, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate and boil until the artichoke hearts are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the hearts cool in the cooking liquid to retain their color. (The artichokes can be cooked 1 day ahead and refrigerated in their cooking liquid overnight.)

Step 5
when cool, remove the artichokes from the liquid and cut each heart into eights. Remove the hairy choke and drain well.

Step 6
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder with the ice-water. Blend thoroughly.

Step 7
In a deep-fryer or large deep saucepan, heat the oil to 400 degree celsius. One by one, dip each piece of artichoke into the batter and add to the hot oil. Fry in batches without crowding until crisp and brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve the fritters hot with the remoulde sauce for dipping.

* This article has been brought to you by Golfera Foods which is a major Italian Food Retail chain present internationally. Our website has a dedicated section for recipes.