Artichoke Croquettes with Bacon

Clean the artichokes, placing them in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice once you're done so that they don't brown. Remove the tough outer fibers from the stalks, keeping the most tender inside part. Cook the stalks in salted boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove the internal choke from the artichokes and cut them into slices. Sauté them in a pan with 2 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt for 5 minutes; pour in half a glass of wine and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Cut the stalks into small pieces and puree them. Coarsely chop the artichokes with a knife.

Separate the crusts from the bread and set aside about 3 ounces. Blend it, but not too finely. Break up the soft part of the bread with your hands and place the pieces in a bowl. Mix in the pureed stalks, chopped artichokes, a tablespoon of oil, half a clove of minced garlic, the eggs, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs.

Mix with your hands and form about 16 croquettes. Bread them using the coarse bread crumbs you made and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and bake for 10 minutes at 400 °F. Cut the bacon into strips and roast it in a pan until it becomes crispy. Serve the croquettes with the bacon.