It’s Spring and you may have seen artichokes appear in the markets. They may look intimidating but they are not and their great taste makes them worth the effort to clean.

Here, I am serving them up as a appetizer, dunked in my easy and always crispy beer batter and these were a hit in both Winnipeg and Toronto, where I held Greek Supper Clubs recently.

A garlickly, creamy skordalia is the perfectly side to swoosh and dunk these fried morsels into. Enjoy!

Fried Artichokes

(makes 24)

6 artichokes, peeled and trimmed or whole jarred/marinated

for the batter

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup corn starch

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

zest of 2 lemons

2 – 2 1/2 cups of cold dark beer (nothing too dark)

vegetable oil for frying

oil for frying

1. Add your dry ingredients into a bowl and stir to incorporate. Now use a whisk to stir while pouring a steady stream of beer into the bowl. Whisk/stir until there are no more lumps and you have a batter slightly thinner than for pancakes.
2. Heat your deep fryer to 365F or pour some oil in a deep pot, enough to come up 3 inches.
3. Meanwhile, cut your artichokes into quarters (lengthwise, preserving the stem as well. Pat dry then dredge in some all purpose flour.
4. Once your oil is hot, dip the artichokes in the batter and fry for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a cooling rack or paper lined platter to cool.
5. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with a bowl of Skordalia for dipping.