Italicious

I paused for a minute with my artichokes, didn’t want to skip Easter in Naples and had old friends in town over the weekend, which happily puts everything else on hold.

This was the 2nd creation that I made with my 20 artichokes, a simple pasta with sautéed artichokes and heavy cream. I used “fresh” pasta, strascinati which are a traditional pasta shape here in Puglia, like a longer skinnier orrechiette. I admit I did not make them myself, they sell these things in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, I would love to continue to make my own pasta, but also love the convenience of something someone made for me. Especially for a weeknight meal.

Strascinati ai Carciofi e Panna

• 3 medium sized artichokes, trimmed and cleaned
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 whole lemon
• salt to taste
• 200 ml panna or ½ cup of heavy cream
• parmigiano reggiano for sprinkling on pasta

Prepare a bowl with cold water and lemon juice.

Clean the artichokes by eliminating their outer leaves; you can do this by bending them and snapping them off. Do this until you get to the leaves that are lighter in color.  Cut off the tip of the central cone, to eliminate the tougher green end of the leaves. Cut the heart in half and scoop out the inside chokes with a knife or a small spoon. Cut the heart of the artichoke into thin slices and immerse in the lemon water. If your artichokes have stems, cut the stem off and peel it of its outer skin. Chop into small cubes.

Heat oil in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat and add the onion. When the onion starts to sizzle add the slices of artichokes. Sauté artichokes over high heat for a few minutes and add cup of white wine. Lower heat to a medium flame and cover pan. Stirring occasionally. Sauté artichokes for at least 30 minutes, or until they are soft, if the artichokes start to dry out, add water to the pan.

In the meantime, fill a large pot with water for the pasta. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water starts to boil for the pasta add a small handful of salt to the water and bring to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

Once you have added the pasta to the water, pour the panna into the pan, you want it to be heated through, but you don’t want it to cook for too long.

When the pasta is perfectly al dente, turn up the heat on the sauce and drain the pasta. Without shaking all of the water out of the colander pour the pasta into the pan and toss it with the sauce. This allows for the pasta to cook a little longer in the sauce and to absorb the flavor.

One Year Ago: Ziti with Grilled Sausages and Ricotta

Two Years Ago:  Spaghetti alle Sarde con Erbette & Asparagus and Ham Risotto with a Fried Egg

Three Years Ago: Carciofi alla Romana, Roasted Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce, Spinach and Sausage Lasagna & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

~ by italicious on April 16, 2012.

Posted in artichokes, fresh pasta, pasta, primi, vegetarian
Tags: artichokes, heavy cream, pasta, vegetarian