I love food and eating all kinds of food in a variety of preparations. Therefore, I am dispirited whenever the “Center for Science and Public Interest” issues a press release, because they are uniformly negative on delicious food. Their philosophy seems to be: eat your vegetables (no butter sauce allowed!) and don’t you dare enjoy what you eat. Today, their press release is anti-Chinese food and they were especially scornful of crispy deep-fried egg rolls. In previous press releases, they told people not to eat Italian and Mexican cuisines, plus they abused popcorn.

There is no fun in telling people what not to eat; the fun is to enjoy a great meal. So here is an egg roll recipe that I love…and, yes, it is deep-fried and crispy and salty.

Goat Cheese and Artichoke Spring Rolls

• 2 artichokes, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 package egg roll wrappers
• Vegetable oil

To clean the artichokes, cut off all the green leaves, leaving just the heart. Use the pitting spoon to scoop out the choke and thinly slice. To roast the pepper, blacken the skin on a grill, burner, or under a broiler. Put in a bowl and cover until cool. Scrape off the black skin, cut away the ribs and seeds, and dice the pepper.

In a fry pan, heat the oil, then sauté the artichokes until slightly tender. Add the peppers and green onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cool, then add the goat cheese.

Place a spoonful of the filling in a wrapper, tuck the sides in, and roll tightly. Brush the end with water to seal. Heat the vegetable oil to 350 and deep-fry until browned. Remove and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt while still hot. Serve with sauce.

Dipping Sauce

• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ cup water

Whisk together all of the ingredients.