Fried Artichoke + Lemon Sandwich

This sandwich was the result of a perfect storm of things. I've never cooked/prepped fresh artichokes before and I've been meaning to conquer this fear. I spotted a big container of baby artichokes at the supermarket and just bit the bullet. Also, after my experiment with scotch eggs over the weekend, I am a frying machine! I am addicted to the euphoria you get when you see a delicious brown crust on the food you're cooking. While I was prepping the lemon water for the artichokes, I remembered how much I absolutely love fried lemons on a plate of fried calamari. Lastly, I bought a baguette the other day and needed to get rid of it before our trip to New York. The best things can come from trying to use up stuff in your fridge.



The result? Fried yumminess.


(makes 4 sandwiches)

1 baguette, cut into four sections
2 lbs. baby artichokes
8 thinly sliced pieces of lemon, plus extra for lemon water
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tspns. salt, plus additional for sprinkling after frying
Black pepper
2 tspns. garlic powder
Vegetable oil for frying
Asiago cheese block (or about a 1/4 - 1/3 cup finely shredded Asiago cheese. You can also use Parmesan)
Slices of salami or prosciutto
Mayonaise
Mixed spring greens (optional)


Fill a big bowl with cold water and squeeze about half a lemon into it.

Prep the baby artichokes and cut them in half. This is a great slideshow on how to prep baby artichokes: http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/slideshows/2010/06/how_to_prep_baby_artichokes#slide=1

As you slice the artichokes, place them in the lemon water bath so they don't brown.

Heat some vegetable oil to 350F (or do the chopstick thing I reference in my other recipes).

Combine the flour, salt, black pepper to taste, and garlic powder in a bowl. Pat dry the artichokes and then dredge the artichokes and thin slices of lemon in the flour. Tap the excess flour off and place carefully in the hot frying oil. Fry until crispy brown, about 2-4 minutes each batch. When the lemons and artichokes are done, sprinkle some salt on them and top with finely shredded Asiago cheese.

To layer your sandwich: Mayo. Greens (if using). Salami. Fried chokes + 2 pieces of fried lemon + cheese. Chomp.

Scotch Eggs

Scotch eggs are something I've always heard about, but have never actually eaten or seen on a menu before. Maybe I'm just going to the wrong places (although growing up in a Vietnamese house probably has to do with me not trying one for the first 18 years of my life). This weekend I decided to just go for it and I am so happy to say it was a success! The moment I cut into this thing and saw that I did not completely overcook the egg into a pale yellow sad sack, I had culinary euphoria. I was so excited. I am still excited and it's long been eaten. I used turkey sausage because I liked the idea of a lighter taste to contrast the fried coating -- it's not exactly health food I know, but I preferred not to have too much extra fat that wasn't going to contribute to my enjoyment of the dish. Perdue has some good turkey sausages, I'm sure Findlay Market has very interesting varieties of sausage to experiment with (there's a lamb and cherry one that could be great I think). I highly highly recommend cooking the eggs beforehand and letting them cool overnight -- this helps make the eggs super easy to peel the next morning and slow the cooking of the egg once you fry it.

I can try for a runny egg next time, but for now, this'll do. This will do.

(for 2 servings)

3 large eggs 

2 turkey sausage links (in casing)

1/2 cup of flour 

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil for frying

Cover 2 of the eggs with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes. Take off the stove, submerge in cold water, and drain. Place the eggs in the fridge overnight. 

The next morning, crack the uncooked egg and mix it with about a tablespoon of water. Whisk it a little bit to make an egg wash.  Set up your breading station and lay out the flour and panko.

Remove the sausage from its casing but keep each portion separate. Carefully peel the previously boiled eggs (although if you mess up a tiny bit, no one will know!). Wrap each egg with the meat from one sausage link so that it completely covers the egg -- no egg white peeping out -- and forms a ball. Dredge each sausage ball into the flour, tap to remove excess flour. You can play hot potato a little bit with it to remove the excess flour. Next, dip it in the egg wash mixture, then dip it in the panko crumbs.

Heat the frying oil to 350F degrees. If you don't have a fry thermometer, I heat the oil until I dip a wooden chopstick into the oil and bubbles start quickly forming around the tip. Place the balls into the frying oil. Cook each egg for 4-6 minutes, rotating a few times in the oil. 

Slice into it and enjoy, pat yourself on the back.