Sundays with Marlena Spieler-Pollo All'Ebraica with Baby Peas and Deep Fried Baby Artichokes

Oh...I forgot to spoon the sauce over before I took the photo. My battery was so low..in a hurry I guess.
Deep-fried artichokes are divine.


As Marlena says, this is an Italian dish that reflects both Mediterranean and Jewish Cooking. Due to the laws of the Kashrut, which forbids using cream with meat dishes, Jews enrich sauces by using egg yolks. That being said, I did not temper my egg yolks appropriately so my sauce ended up going down the toilet. My cat Buddy loves to watch things go down the toilet...at least HE was happy! Live and learn.

We were starving so I ended up using the cooked onions along with the juices from cooking the half chicken ....so with the fennel seeds, parsley, the Marsala and some chicken stock...the sauce was delicious.

Those deep fried baby artichokes are to die for! Seriously. The leaves were crispy but the heart was tender and perfecto...a little sea salt and voile! Here are the recipes for both dishes:

Pollo All'Ebraica with Baby (Petite) Peas

[I used half a chicken..already split. Marlena called for 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts..which I didn't have]. BTW..All'Ebraica means "in the Jewish style"

Ingredients: Serves 4

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
all-purpose flour for dusting chicken...about 1/4 cup
4 TBS Canola Oil
1 finely chopped onion
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley (I used pea shoots)
1 and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
5 TBS dry Marsala
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cups baby peas (I used the steam in a bag kind)
juice of 1 and 1/2 lemons (I used half of a preserved meyer lemon..finely chopped)
2 egg yolks
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Salt and pepper the chicken and then dust with flower. I just threw mine into a paper bag that I had added the flour to...shake a few time. Throw the bag away.

Heat 1 TBS in pan and add the onion, parsley, fennel seeds. Saute for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the remaining oil and add the chicken to the pan..cook 2 or 3 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Take chicken out and set aside. De glaze pan with the Marsala and reduce liquid to about 2 TBS and add chicken stock. Go ahead and add the onion mixture, chicken, and peas back into the pan. Everyone in the pool....like they say way too often on tv.

Cook that over low heat while you prepare the egg mixture. Now, in a bowl, beat the lemon juice and egg yolks together. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the pan into the yolk mixture and combine.

Return the mixture to the pan and stir together with the other liquid. Don't allow mixture to boil or the eggs will scramble...honest. Serve immediately with sauce and peas spooned around the chicken. I had some leftover brown rice..so served some of that too. You will be loved.

Deep-Fried Baby Artichokes

Ingredients: Serves 4

2- lemons, halved
4-8 small globe artichokes
Vegetable oil for frying (or a mixture of peanut oil and canola oil for a higher smoke point)
pinch of sea salt

Prepare a big bowl with cold water and squeeze the lemon juice into the water...artichokes oxidize quickly! After you pick the tough outer leaves off, put them in the aciduated water until ready to cook. They get fried anyway so I skipped this step. I am bad.

Cut the stems off and then take the outer tough leaves off..until you get down to the pale inner leaves. Cut a bit of the tops off too.

Carefully open the leaves. I didn't worry about the choke, as these were very small artichokes. If there is a lot of choke, remove it with a small spoon. If the artichokes are not babies, you should cook them in boiling water for about ten minutes before deep frying...and then make sure you roll them in a clean kitchen towel to get that water out. Gently. Then place upside down on counter and carefully press down so leaves open up.

Fill a heavy wok or pan with the oil...or as much as you think you'll need to deep fry. I only used about 2 cups or so. I threw a leaf in to see if the oil was hot enough. When it is...put artichokes in 2 at a time...leaves up, and press down with stainless steel slotted spoon. When they are browned, drain on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve! Dave loved these and so did I! Wowza.


I counted and I have 21 more recipes out of Jewish Cooking to complete. Eileen says she has three left, but she has been posting more than one per week. Shankari...how many do you have left? Be sure and click on their names to check out what they cooked up for Sunday!