Author: arielleclementine

Carciofi alla Giudia with Fried Lemon

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I fear that this dish takes me one step closer to getting a Texas-State-Fair-style reputation as one who fries things that aren’t meant to be fried. But, dear reader, this is so. good.  And it’s really an adaptation of a classic Jewish-Italian recipe, so it’s legit.  Here artichokes are trimmed and quartered and then dropped, sans batter, into hot oil.  The result is a real testament to the power of frying.  The stem and heart of the artichoke become golden and tender, while those delicious leaves take on a crispy, potato chip-like quality that cannot be beat. This must, must be served with a slice or two of fried lemon, which is really just one of the most beautiful things in the world.  A crispy, intensely-lemony delight.  I served this on a chickpea puree featuring gremolata flavors, but if you’re in a hurry you could definitely skip this step and just serve these on a plate with a smear of Greek yogurt. 

Carciofi alla Giudia with Fried Lemon

For the Artichokes

  • 2 large artichokes
  • 2 lemons, meyer if available
  • vegetable oil, for frying
  • sea salt, for sprinkling
  • chickpea puree (recipe follows) or greek yogurt
  • extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  1. Make the chickpea puree (recipe follows).
  2. Cut one of the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl of water. Set aside.
  3. Prepare the artichokes. With your hands, peel off the tough outer leaves of the artichoke. keep peeling until you start to see pale green tops on the remaining leaves. use your knife to cut off the top third of the artichoke (not the stem end). Use your knife or a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layer of the stem, and trim off any rough areas around the base of the stem. Cut the artichokes in quarters and remove and discard the feathery choke. Put the prepared artichokes into the bowl of acidulated water.
  4. Heat the oil (it should be about 1 inch deep) in a large pot over medium heat, until shimmery but not smoking. (you can put the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil- if bubbles form around the base, your oil is hot enough).
  5. Dry your first 4 artichoke quarters as best you can with a kitchen towel and ease them quickly into the oil. Be careful! Remaining water may cause the oil to splatter. Let the oil settle down a minute before you attempt to poke and prod the artichokes. Then fry, turning occasionally until the artichokes are golden and tender. Remove from the oil and drain upside down on paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt while the artichokes are still glistening with oil. Repeat this step with the remaining artichokes.
  6. Slice the remaining lemon into very thin slices, and remove any seeds that cling to the slices. Pat the slices dry with paper towels and then drop them into the hot oil. Fry, turning occasionally, until the insides of the lemons are golden brown and the outsides are bright yellow. Drain on paper towels.
  7. To serve, spoon some of the chickpea puree (or a smear of greek yogurt) onto a plate. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with two artichoke quarters and a slice or two of fried lemon. Enjoy!

For the Chickpea Puree

  • 2 cups canned chickpeas
  • zest and juice of two lemons
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1/3 cup water
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
  1. Put all ingredients except parsley into a food processor and process until smooth. Toss in the chopped parsley and pulse a few times to incorporate.

24 Diner

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Look at this place! Cute, huh? It’s called 24 Diner, and it’s fairly new and humming along quite happily next to Waterloo Records on Sixth and Lamar. I have been there twice (two times! (I’m trying to work an Arrested Development reference in whenever possible)) and I wanted to share it with you, dear reader.  It’s a bright and cheery little diner that, I promise, has something for everybody.  Read on!

These are Sparkies ($6.85): super-liquidy-cheese-filled jalapenos, wrapped in sausage, breaded and deep fried.  These sounded super terrific to me, lover of trashy sausage snacks.  In reality, we thought they were only ok.  The cheese was so thin that it simply ran out of its sausage sarcophagus the instant you bit into it.   For my money, you’re better off with the Swiss Chard and Artichoke Gratin as a starter.  This was pretty tasty, and the chard (along with much of the other produce on the menu) is sourced from farms around Austin.

Helen, as per her usual, ordered the Veggie Burger ($10.95).  The patty was made with beets (which lent their lovely hue!), mushrooms, lentils, rice, pumpkin seeds and golden flaxseeds and it came with lovely toppings.  Helen is quite the veggie burger connoisseur- she’s sampled them at almost every place in Austin that offers them.  Her verdict? She liked it quite a bit! She thought the beets were a fun and unusual twist. But Helen still contends that P. Terry’s makes Austin’s best veggie burger.

That ever-intrepid bacon advocate Molly Blake ordered the R.J. Club ($11.95) with a side of roasted broccoli (one of the special sides of the day).  This was a good, if fairly standard, version of this sandwich.  Crispy bacon, turkey, with a little country ham thrown in for good measure.  The roasted broccoli (a concept to which I have confessed my undying love) was nice, but would have benefited from a squeeze of lemon- it was a touch drab.

I ordered the Pulled Chicken Breast Sandwich with fries ($9.95).  Nice lunch fare! The sandwich was really rather lovely, due largely to the roasted tomato vinaigrette, and the fries were great.  I don’t know if anyone reading this remembers what the fries at Railroad BBQ in Manchaca, TX taste like, but these remind me of crunchier versions of those.  I think the similarity lies in the very potato-y taste they were able to preserve.  My only complaint about the sandwich was that it became a bit monotonous after awhile- I got tired of eating the same flavors after half of the sandwich and had no desire to press on.

Talk about ending on a high note! Huzzah! Well aside from that somber tone at the end, I’m really happy 24 Diner opened its doors.  It’s the kind of place where you can bring a diverse group of people anytime of the day or night, and everyone will be able to find something they like.  Also, if you’re there for breakfast (or feeling breakfast-y when you’re there- they serve it all day), they do it up right.  When I was there with Andy, he ordered a big breakfast plate and loved it.  Their waffles are really fun and boozy too (bourbon?).  Check it out!

Eat Your Yard

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Helen and I went to the Natural Gardener this weekend! I love, love that place.  I was hoping to pick up some artichoke plants, but they had already sold out.  Instead I picked up a packet of kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin) seeds and a couple of hatch chile plants.  We’ll be back in a week or two to buy tomatoes/basil/etc. Anyway, to make room for the pumpkins I had to unearth my row of carrots that had been in the ground since October (!).  Helen and I also realized that many of my radishes, which had just been planted a few weeks ago, were ready to come up too (their pretty little tops had poked through the soil).  And hey! we could also eat the broccoli leaves like Joanna, and the stalk too! And we could top it off with a salad with my homegrown lettuces! This was all very exciting.

Here’s what we harvested:

(Joanna- I’m gonna give you your green towel back at some point!)

A list of harvested items: easter egg radishes, carrots, broccoli stalk and leaves, lettuces, parsley, green onions, green garlic.

And here’s what we made for dinner with our plunder:



Honey Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Puree and Parmigiano Reggiano

For this dish, I made the carrot top puree Kevin made on Top Chef last season (minus the tarragon + green garlic). For the carrots, I cut them into equal-sized pieces and put them into a cast iron skillet where I had melted/combined a tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of honey, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a bit of fresh thyme.  This went into a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until the carrots were caramelized.  Served with the carrot top puree and a thick shaving of parmigiano, this was Andy’s and my favorite.

Butter-Glazed Braised Radishes

If you (like me) planted 4000 radishes in your yard, you must, must try this recipe.  Radishes are great cooked! More mellow, tender, and mildly peppery.  This was Helen’s favorite. This recipe comes from the cookbook All About Braising.

  • 2 bunches small radishes (about 1 pound)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup chicken stock, homemade
  • large pinch of sugar
  • coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
  1. Trim the radishes of their roots and trim the green tops, leaving about 1/4 inch (we added some of the peppery tops to our salad greens).
  2. Place the radishes in a medium skillet that will hold them in a single layer. Add the butter, stock, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, reduce the heat, and braise at a low simmer until the radishes are easily pierced with a metal skewer, 20-25 minutes.
  3. Remove the lid, shake the pan to roll the radishes around, and continue simmering until the liquid reduces to a glaze and coats the radishes, another 5 minutes or so.  Serve warm.

Lemony Braised Broccoli Leaves and Stalk


This was based off a kale recipe I found on Food52 by talented cook ‘Loves Food Loves to Eat’.  We thought this was delicious! If you don’t have access to broccoli leaves, try this recipe with kale.

  • 1 thinly sliced shallot
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • red pepper flakes
  • 1-2 cup chicken broth
  • Juice from 1/2 large lemon
  • 1 bunch of broccoli leaves, chopped
  • 1 broccoli stalk, peeled (to remove the tough outer layers), sliced into 1/4 inch discs

Sauté shallot and sliced broccoli stalk in olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. When the shallots are golden and the stalk slices are becoming tender, add a pinch of salt, a pinch of red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and broth. Slowly add chopped leaves. Allow the leaves to wilt and soften, and continue cooking until most of the cooking liquid has evaporated. Serve hot.

 Salad with Cara Cara Oranges and Pistachios

I was just going to serve lettuce dressed simply in my go-to lemon/dijon mustard vinaigrette, but then Helen recommended adding the cara cara orange in my fruit bowl and the pistachios in my pantry.  It was delicious! I added a bit of the orange juice to the vinaigrette, and it was a perfectly lovely salad.

This was such a fun dinner! I love that living-off-the-land feeling, like the one you get when you read the first Boxcar Children book (i.e. they use the stream in the woods as a method of refrigeration and cook the eggs they find in a bird’s nest).  I want that.