Fryin’, Cali Style

I love all things fried (I think I was a truck driver in a past life), but we all know I’m a Cali girl at heart. Yep, that means fresh greens with (almost) every meal, smoothies, and avocado toast. Last year I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Atlanta where I got the ultimate southern immersion. One of our many foodie stops was Mary Mac’s Tea Room. Small plates and everything truly southern. That’s right. We had collard greens, hush puppies, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, grits… insert about ten other heart-warming dishes. You bet your bottom dollar I waddled out of there. But, worth it! I’m a foodie at heart, I will suffer for my art.

With memories of Mary Mac’s lingering on my taste buds, I am always eager to add some southern flare to my life (I can’t apologize for the fact that southerners have the best palates and a shared love of fried goods). So, fast forward to a casual Facebook scroll in the past week, where I vaguely saw a picture of some garlicky, fried shrimp on what I think was an artichoke heart. I filed it away as a good idea, but never scrolled back or dug into the recipe. I figured, eh, I could do that.

So I did.

Any ol fool can fry some shrimp! And I love artichoke hearts. This can’t be too hard.

And, well, with some improvising and my heart at the helm, we had a relatively easy, decadent dinner.

It was less orderly when I was cooking, but the recipe is as follows –

Ingredients:

• Artichokes – 1 per person
• Brown rice (I prefer Lundberg- local!)
• Homemade bone broth, purchased broth, or water
• Shrimp – for two of us we did 2 pounds (what can I say, we like to eat)
• Eggs
• Milk
• Panko bread crumbs
• Garlic salt
• Rumiano Garlic Ghee
• Rumiano Organic Sharp Cheddar

Steps:

1. Rice takes the longest, so I started that pretty early on. And if it’s done a little early, it will hold. Just keep the lid on to keep it warm. Follow the product instructions, I did a serving per each of us. I used my own homemade bone broth in place of water for extra nutrients and flavor. My only advice here is, cook the rice slow! Or you’ll get under cooked, crunchy rice. Trust me.
2. Next, I started the artichokes. I cut the stem down pretty short so it was flush with the bottom of the leaves. I threw them in some boiling water and left them to cook.
3. I estimated that the rice and artichokes needed about 45 minutes to cook, whereas I only needed about 20-30 minutes to cook the shrimp (excluding prep). So, I let the rice and artichokes cook for about 15-20 minutes before starting in on the shrimp.

Shrimp Cookin’:

1. Shell and de-tail your shrimp.
2. Crack 4-5 eggs in a bowl, add milk, and scramble. I just pour with my heart when it comes to the milk. Nothing specific here.
3. Pour your Panko breads in a separate bowl. I always season my crumbs, this time with garlic salt. Seasoned crumbs are the key to success.
4. Next, scoop about a little less than half a cup of ghee (I chose Rumiano Garlic Ghee) into your frying pan. Heat it until all ghee is melted, and you’re toned down to a medium heat. You want there to be enough melted ghee to cover the bottom of your pan, so add as needed. Keep your ghee close at hand, as you will need to replenish as you cook.
5. Dunk your shrimp in the egg batter, then toss them in the bread crumbs.
6. Once they are full covered with crumbs and scrumptious looking, throw them in your frying pan. Ghee has a very high smoke temp so if you’re getting any bubbling, popping, or smoking, turn that sh!t down. If you notice it is taking more than a couple minutes to brown each side, inch the temp up a little.
7. You should spend a couple minutes browning each side of the shrimp, at which point they should curl up a bit (not a tight curl) and be a nice golden brown.
8. Once they’re done, scoop them into their own bowl and sprinkle with garlic salt (yes I love this stuff).
9. Cook all of your shrimp. Most importantly, taste as you go. It’s called Quality Control. Check it out.

Back to the rest of the meal:

1. Once your shrimp are done, your rice and artichokes should be wrapping up.
2. I would suggest keeping an eye on your rice as you cook your shrimp, if it is done a little early, remove from heat and leave it covered.
3. Once you can easily stick a fork in the heart (eh, a bit gruesome?) of your artichoke, it is done.
4. Use tongs to fish out each artichoke.
5. They will be roasty toasty hot. Don’t use your fingers. Unless you’re like the toughest person ever.
6. You can hold an artichoke with your tongs and use a fork with the other hand to scrape off all the leaves. Or just let the artichokes cool a bit. It’s your life, live it as you will.
7. Remove all of the leaves, and scrape the little fuzzies off the heart of your artichoke.
8. I love a good presentation, so I plated our dinners. I scooped a layer of brown rice, laid an artichoke heart on top (added a little dab of garlic ghee), and then piled it high with fried shrimp.
9. To top it off, I shredded some Rumiano Organic Sharp Cheddar over the dish.
10. Ta-dah! Dinna time.

This really was delish and hearty, and a touch southern with all the Cali flare. We got our greens in the form of artichoke hearts, and the bone broth amped up the nutrition on the rice. I justified the fried shrimp because it was cooked in ghee (clarified butter). Ghee, especially Rumiano Ghee, has some great health benefits. Not only is it a healthy fat, but it is a good source of medium-chain triglycerides. MCT oil derived from coconut can often go rancid, whereas ghee is shelf stable. You can also be assured that the milk used to produce Rumiano Ghee comes from dairies that are truly pasture-based, which studies have show to be more nutritious and containing an increased amount of Omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid. Not to mention happier cows. But, who’s judging? (I totally am.)

I will certainly be making this again. Although I may have to convince Jared. He got stuck with the dishes… But, I am sure the idea of fried shrimp will have him drooling and begging for more. Next time I will probably add some additional greens, and I am thinking of experimenting with a creamy sauce to drizzle over the top… Stay tuned.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! As always, cook with your heart. A drink in your hand doesn’t hurt either. Please tag me in your creations, and leave comments on thoughts, suggestions, or questions below!

Cheers!