Ok, so one thing I’ve noticed with gourmet cookbooks is that recipes tend to be called by more elaborate names utilizing the recipe ingredients in their title. For example, this recipe could have simply been called “Fried Artichokes and Onion Rings”. But was instead named “Chickpea-Encrusted Fried Artichokes and Sweet Onions with Soft-Boiled Egg Tartar Sauce”. I have to admit, the latter does sound more appealing. At least to me anyway. If my husband were to see that on the menu, he would immediately start questioning whether or not he would eat anything with a chickpea on it. Me? Well I see it and immediately think, “I’ve never had a chickpea encrusted anything so I have to try it". Yep, this cookbook is definitely the right one for me to cook cover to cover!
First up was the soft-boiled egg tartar sauce as it needed chill time. I’ve never soft boiled eggs-only hard boiled. It reminded me of a fried egg-nice firm white with a runny center which I cracked into my food processor. After adding a little mustard and some evoo (extra-virgin olive oil), I then folded in the other ingredients for a typical tartar sauce with the exception of capers. I’ve never used capers in tartar sauce. The recipe did call for either tarragon or dill and since I’m not overly crazy about tarragon and had a choice, I went with fresh dill from my herb garden. Can I just say I love the smell of fresh chopped dill?
Then it was time to whip-up the chickpea batter. I ordered chickpea flour online as you can’t just run to Kroger and buy it. It has a nutty aroma that reminds me a little of green peanuts. After chilling the batter, it was time to dip and fry the chokes and rings. I loved how the thick batter clung nicely to the veggies.
Finally, it was time to taste! I looked forward to this all day. The chickpea batter didn’t have any distinguishing flavor after frying that would make me think it was different from any other flour. But, like I said, a chickpea encrusted onion ring sounds so much fancier! The chokes and rings were really good and I loved the crunch of the chickpea batter.
The soft-boiled egg tartar sauce had a very unique flavor that I just couldn’t quite put my taste buds on. It was definitely a familiar flavor but what the heck was it? Then my husband tried it and he’s never one to hold back. He said, “It tastes like potato salad”. I took another bite and sure enough-it had a very distinct potato salad note! I think it was the combination of soft-boiled eggs, onion and sweet pickles that gave it the potato salad flavor.
So overall I rated this a 3 because I really enjoyed the crunchy batter and while the tartar sauce was not bad, I wasn’t crazy about it as a sauce. My husband, who of course, doesn’t hold back, gave it a solid 2.
I’ve been on a quest for the ingredients for recipe number 3, but so far, green garlic has eluded me!
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