faux fried hearts

Long time no see! I have not posted anything in a long time, but I have made a resolution to post a lot more often this year. We shall see! Look for many new posts in the next few weeks.

This is a super easy new appetizer that I have been making lately. I got the idea from Southstreet, a Nashville favorite. They serve fried artichokes with their fried calamari and serve with a side of warm marinara sauce. It is so yummy! I don't fry these chokes at all. Instead, I simply coat them with a combination of seasoned Italian bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

I created an assembly line. I drain a can of quartered artichoke hearts. You can also use whole chokes and quarter them yourself. The smaller they are, the better they will taste. I always try to get whole chokes that are 10-12 per can. You can also get the frozen variety. The important part is making sure they are not soaking wet. I roll them in a clean dish towel after they are drained.

Then, one by one, I roll them around in the bread crumb & cheese mixture. Lay them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake them in a 375º oven until they begin to brown, roughly 15 - 17 minutes.

Serve with a little warm marinara or a spicy aioli sauce. So easy and simply wonderful!