Sauté of Artichoke Hearts with White Wine, Lemon and Capers

You will also need:

1. A wide, heavy-bottomed frying pan.
2. A baking tray lined with paper towels.

Making the artichokes:

1. Cut the artichoke hearts in half lengthwise. Put the flour on a plate and set aside. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1/4 cup of the olive oil in the wide, heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat.
3. As the butter and oil heat, roll the hearts in flour and transfer them a few at a time, to the bowl of beaten egg. Coat the hearts in the egg and transfer them to the pan, cut side down. Add as many to the pan at one time as it is possible to sauté in one layer without crowding them together.
4. Sauté the hearts on one side over medium heat until they are golden. Allow them to brown gradually. There’s no rush, as there is with deep frying. Turn and sauté them on the second side. (The rounded side will not brown evenly—and it doesn’t matter.)
5. Transfer the golden hearts to a tray lined with paper towels. Wipe out the pan, add the second tablespoon of butter and another 1/4 cup of olive oil and heat it up. Roll the remaining hearts in flour, dip them in egg and sauté them as you did in the prior batch. Transfer them to the baking sheet as well.
6. Wipe out the pan again. Return all the artichokes to the pan and heat them over medium heat. Add the wine and the lemon juice and cook the hearts until they have just absorbed both of them.

Serving the artichokes:

1. If you are serving the artichokes immediately, sprinkle on the capers and parsley. Otherwise, you may leave the artichokes in the pan, reheat them and add these last two ingredients just before putting the artichokes in a bowl to serve as an appetizer. Place a spoon in the bowl for guests to use to serve themselves a few, with capers, onto small plates. People will need forks to eat the hearts as an appetizer.

A Serving Suggestion: Lemon twists look nice if added to a bowl of these artichoke hearts. Slice several rounds from a lemon. Cut straight through the middle of each round from one side just to the inner rim of the other side. Then twist the two attached halves in opposite directions.