I always enjoy a good artichoke. You can get them steamed, boiled or even grilled. They are often served with some kind of creamy dipping sauce or butter, I even used mayo growing up. When you get them steamed or boiled you bite the lower part of the petals and remove the white fleshy part of the artichoke. That in itself is a tasty appetizer but not my favorite part. It is after you peel away all of the petals that you reveal my favorite part of the artichoke, the tender,  delicious heart. It is the heart of the artichoke that I used for this recipe. I coated these bites of heaven with panko bread crumbs and seasonings before frying them. I sprinkled them with a little kosher salt and served them with a yummy lemon dill dipping sauce.

Now you can choose to clean a couple of whole artichokes, but it is quite a process, so I choose to use frozen artichoke hearts for this recipe. You can also use canned artichoke hearts, but the flavor is not as good as the frozen variety.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 1 package frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed or 1 (14.5 ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a little more for sprinkling after frying
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• canola oil for frying

1. Heat about 1 inch of canola oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
2. In a bowl beat the egg, set aside. In another bowl combine panko bread crumbs, dry bread crumbs, dried oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Pat dry the artichoke hearts. Dip them in egg and then bread crumb mixture. Toss to coat and shake to remove any excess.
4. Sprinkle a couple of bread crumbs into the oil, if they sizzle the oil is hot enough to begin frying. Fry the artichokes in batches until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes.  Strain on paper towel or brown paper bag, sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve hot. (Note: It is important to do this in batches so that you don’t over crowd the pan and reduce the temperature of the oil.)

These are yummy on their own but I made a simple lemon-dill dipping sauce to go with them.  Follow the recipe below if you’d like to make it too.

Lemon-Dill Dipping Sauce

You will need:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk all ingredients together, chill 20 minutes. Serve.

Enjoy!