I love artichokes. I get a huge kick out of seeing their symmetrical little shapes all stacked up at the market this time of year. Growing up in California, I gorged myself on them… and I burned the roof of my mouth more times than I can count because I can never wait for them to cool down before digging in.
Until recently, I would order fresh artichoke dishes in restaurants, but I would never prepare them at home. They just seemed like too much work, and canned artichoke hearts are pretty fantastic. But it’s artichoke season, and we keep getting beautiful artichokes in our CSA basket. I am racked with guilt every time I neglect them and they go bad, so I started playing around with this pasta.
The ingredients are simple, but they complement each other so well. The artichokes are earthy and buttery, and the lemon adds a touch of brightness. And cream and Parmesan are always a good idea; use just a little for a lighter dish, or be heavy-handed for a decadent, creamy sauce.
To be clear, you can make this pasta with canned artichoke hearts, and it will be delicious. But if you have some in-season artichokes just begging to be used… well, here you go.
Ingredients
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- 3-4 T. butter
- 8 oz./226 g dried spaghetti
- Zest of 2-3 lemons
- 2 T. lemon juice (plus more for cooking artichokes)
- Generous splash of cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- 6-8 whole artichokes (or 1 can artichoke hearts)
Instructions
- Cook artichokes. If using whole, fresh artichokes, roast them with garlic, salt, olive oil and lemon juice according to this recipe. If using canned artichoke hearts, rinse and drain them. Sauté the hearts with 1 T. of butter, a spoonful of minced garlic and a splash of lemon juice. Roughly chop and set aside.
- Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook pasta until just shy of al dente.
- Meanwhile, melt 3 T. butter in a large skillet. Add lemon zest and cook for a couple minutes. Pour in cream. Use tongs to add the cooked pasta, lemon juice, artichokes and Parmesan. Toss, adding a few spoonfuls of pasta water to thin the sauce if needed.
- Season with salt and pepper, and a splash of olive oil. Serve with additional Parmesan and lemon zest on the side.
I initially tasted a comparative formula to this at a Greek eatery and was astounded how this tart flavor moved on my bed. By then I understood what a GREAT summer dish this would make! I invested a long energy changing this formula into a unique dish by improved advances while adding new components to it.