Fried Baby Artichoke Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing

Fried Baby Artichoke Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing

October 1, 2018

Servings: 4

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 2 min

Total: 15 min

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A simple green salad, elevated with fried baby artichoke hearts and an EPIC tahini dressing.

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 1 can whole baby artichoke hearts
• 1 package mini romaine lettuce (I used the Artisan brand)
• 1/3 cup organic tahini
• 1 medium lemon, juiced (~3 TBSP lemon juice)
• 1 TBSP D'vash date nectar (or honey)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Water (to thin, around 3-4 TBSP)
• 1/4 cup fresh dill

Directions

• Step 1 Wash and trim your lettuce and assemble on 4 salad plates. Drain artichokes and pat dry with paper towels. If you’re using a fryer (or air fryer), preheat to 350 degrees. Once heated, fry your artichokes for 2 minutes. Remove and drain.
• Step 2 **Alternative “frying” method: roast your artichokes in the oven. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, combine artichokes, 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes until beginning to turn crisp and golden.
• Step 3 For the dressing, whisk together the tahini paste, lemon juice, date nectar with the salt and garlic. Slowly add in the water, one tablespoon at a time, whisking and adding just enough to achieve desired consistency. I added 3 TBSP to mine.
• Step 4 Assemble the salad by placing the fried artichokes atop the lettuce. Drizzle with the tahini dressing and sprinkle with fresh dill.

Sometimes a salad is ALL about the dressing and you know what, that’s okay! I think I’ve been craving this dressing forever without even realizing it. I honestly go through jars of tahini in our house like it’s going out of style, but for some reason I hadn’t experimented with a tahini dressing recipe until Marc suggested it. What was I waiting for?!

I wanted the tahini to be the star of course, but I knew this dressing needed the right balance of sweet and tart to balance the flavor. I experimented with some vinegar combos, but ultimately settled on lemon juice to give it that fresh tangy punch. There were several ways to achieve the sweet element as well, including honey and maple syrup, but I wanted to make this recipe uniquely my own: enter D’vash date nectar. I’ve posted about D’vash in recipes before (check out my Honey Blueberry Muffins here!), but just in case you missed it – date nectar is a vegan honey alternative made entirely from organic California dates! It is off the charts good and such a perfect pairing for the tahini in this recipe.

The rest of the salad takes second fiddle to the dressing (and you can honestly pair it with any other salad you please!), but those fried artichokes certainly capture your attention don’t they?

It took awhile for Marc to twist my arm into investing in a home fryer, but honestly I’ve never looked back. We use it almost weekly (we’re a big French fry family, don’t judge!) but I love finding other creative uses for it. Baby artichokes always add something special to a dish, but frying them was such a fun way to elevate this salad. We tossed them in the fryer for 2 minutes, just enough that they’d get that satisfying crunch and start to turn golden. For those of you aren’t crazy enough to have your own fryer, you can easily roast them in the oven (ideally on convection) to achieve a similar effect. The air fryer is also a solid bet. Paired with the simple greens, a sprinkling of fresh dill, and this EPIC dressing is all you need to take this salad to the next level.