1 Cup All Purpose Flour
½ Cup Cornstarch
1 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Cold Water
1 Egg
1 ½ Cups Panko Bread Crumbs
3 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
6 Baby Artichokes-boiled until tender, cooled, cut into quarters lengthwise
3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
2 tsp. Lemon Zest
2 tsp. Lemon Juice
2 Garlic Cloves-minced finely then mashed to a paste
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Sift together into a bowl the first measure of flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, egg, and vegetable oil. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients, whisk until smooth. The batter should be a similar thickness to pancake batter. If too thick, add more water, if too thin, add more flour. Reserve.
Prepare the aioli by whisking together the mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.
Heat a deep fryer with vegetable oil to 350ºf. Dredge each artichoke wedge into the batter. Let excess batter drip off and carefully dredge each wedge in the panko crumbs, coating both sides evenly, gently pressing to adhere the crumbs. Fry only 4-6 wedges at a time until a medium golden color. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve with the aioli. Enjoy!
