Castroville Crispy Baby Artichokes

Ingredients

10 Castroville baby artichokes
4 cups buttermilk
2 cups rice flour
2 cups semolina flour
1/2 tbsp. whole garlic, minced
Lemon juice, squeeze
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Trim the outer leafs from the artichokes and cut off the top 1/2 inch (thorny part).

Slice artichokes, top to bottom, about 1/4 inch thick and soak in the buttermilk for a minimum of a half hour, prior to frying.

Combine the rice and semolina flours and season with a teaspoon of salt.

Remove the slices and squeeze the excess buttermilk from them. Dredge in the flour mixture.

Pre-heat your stove-top fryer (large pot with 1/2 gallon of vegetable oil) to 350 degrees and lightly drop the slices in.

When the slices begin to turn golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a paper towel-lined tray and season with the remaining salt to taste.

Toss in a stainless steel mixing bowl with the minced garlic, squeeze lemon juice on top.