Recipe

Hush Puppies Get a Creole Upgrade

Chef Eric Cook shares his recipe for artichoke boulettes dipped in an herby green rémoulade

Recipe by Eric Cook

August 15, 2024

Photo: Sam Hanna

“Think of these little bites as a sort of Creole hush puppy. When I was a kid, my mom would add crabmeat to these treats for holiday parties or special occasions to spruce it up a bit. Frying in a blended oil or vegetable oil keeps them healthier and lighter for guests to enjoy at your next get-together. And the Green Rémoulade, a bright, herbal sauce, is great on anything—chilled or fried seafood, chicken, vegetables, or as a sandwich spread.” —Eric Cook, Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine

Read our Q&A with Cook here.

Ingredients

ARTICHOKE BOULETTES WITH GREEN RÉMOULADE (YIELD: 20 BITES)
FOR THE ARTICHOKE BOULETTES
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, diced small
- 1 (14-oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained, quartered, and liquid reserved
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 2 to 3 cups unseasoned breadcrumbs
- Blended oil, for frying
FOR THE GREEN RÉMOULADE
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp. Creole mustard
- 2 tbsp. prepared horseradish
- 3 green onions, green parts only, sliced
- 1 tbsp. chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1 to 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Creole seasoning

Preparation

Make the boulettes: Melt the butter in a hot skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the artichokes and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor, add the salt and pepper, and pulse to combine. Add the cheese and eggs and pulse to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor as needed. Add enough breadcrumbs, pulsing from time to time, to achieve a pliable but not dense mixture. Set the rest of the breadcrumbs aside. If the mixture gets too tight, add some of the reserved liquid from the canned artichokes. Use teaspoons to form the artichoke mixture into balls. Roll the balls in the reserved breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil to 350°F in a deep fryer or Dutch oven. Line a plate with paper towels. Working in batches if necessary, fry the boulettes in the hot oil until golden on all sides, about 3 minutes. Drain them on a paper towel–lined plate. Serve with Green Rémoulade.

Make the Green Rémoulade: Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, green onions, and parsley in a blender and process on high until just combined.

While the blender is running, drizzle 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice through the feeder tube at the top of the blender until the sauce is the consistency of ranch dressing. Add more lemon juice if needed. Season with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning to taste. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

Recipe excerpted from Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine by Eric Cook with Jyl Benson, photography by Sam Hanna. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.

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