Pasta with artichoke pesto
March 8, 2011 • Category: Main Dish
This recipe I owe to Citron, a wonderful blog edited by Mélanie Mercotte, from Ottawa (Canada); Mélanie’s cuisine is strictly vegetarian; thanks to her, I have bought a syrup made from brown rice and learned about seitan.
Frozen artichoke bottoms are available at the Middle-Eastern grocer imported from Egypt and they are such a time-saver; the recipe also calls for an ingredient that is very popular in Lebanon, hearts of palm. Since I could not find these, I substituted steamed cauliflower!
The recipe can be made into pesto (reduce the amount of olive oil) or a pasta sauce. I added the bacon as it does add a little oomph! to the pasta.
INGREDIENTS: 4 servings
- 8 ounces of pasta, preferably a tube-shaped pasta
- Pesto: 200 g (one can or 7 ounces) of artichoke bottoms
- 1/2 cup of almonds
- 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- salt, to taste
- a few grinds of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red Aleppo pepper or smoked paprika or regular paprika
- 1/2 cup of steamed cauliflower or a few hearts of palm
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
METHOD:
Boil the artichoke bottoms following directions on the package; drain and place in the bowl of a food processor with the other ingredients. Process and taste to adjust seasoning.
Fry some bacon previously chopped in little bits; drain on paper towels and add to the sauce.
Boil some pasta, drain and toss with the sauce. Serve.
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Comments
31 Comments • Comments Feed
Amanda says:
This sounds delicious! Also you posted about hearts of palms, they are very available here in Michigan but I’ve never knew what to do with them, any other suggestions?
On March 8, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Joumana says:
@Amanda: Hearts of palm are great cut up with avocados, corn and tomatoes in a salad with a garlic, lemon and olive oil dressing.
On March 8, 2011 at 7:14 pm
anh@anhsfoodblog.com says:
What a lovely recipe!
On March 8, 2011 at 7:59 pm
weirdcombos says:
I absolutely love artichokes. I bet this dish came out perfect! Interesting original combo artichokes and palm hearts. Hope you can find palm hearts next time. Brazilian are the best 😉
On March 8, 2011 at 8:50 pm
meriem says:
J’aime beaucoup ta recette. Très belle idée que d’utiliser les fonds d’artichaut de cette façon!
On March 8, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Ciaochowlinda says:
I love anything with artichokes and never thought about a pesto. great idea.
On March 8, 2011 at 11:23 pm
domi says:
Bonjour Joumana, des pâtes !!! Oui bien sûr mais quelles pâtes…gourmandes, originales avec bonnes épices et ce savoureux pesto d’ artichauts qui nous apporte du soleil sur notre table. Bisous et soit remercier de ce doux rayon de soleil culinaire
On March 8, 2011 at 11:55 pm
Magic of Spice says:
Looks so delicious, artichoke has always been one of my favorite pestos…
Hope you are having a wonderful week!
On March 9, 2011 at 12:08 am
Ivy says:
What a great idea to make artichokes into a pesto. I love artichokes but my children don’t so I rearely cook them. I have never heard of palm hearts before but they sound very interesting.
On March 9, 2011 at 2:08 am
Katerina says:
Pasta is such a versatile food. It is the perfect bed for anything you can imagine and make. I like this pesto. It is different than any other we see on the net!
On March 9, 2011 at 2:40 am
Rosa says:
That pesto must be scrummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
On March 9, 2011 at 2:53 am
Diane says:
I love artichokes and have both Jerusalem and Globe in my French garden. This recipe sounds very tasty. Diane
On March 9, 2011 at 3:25 am
Cherine says:
Artichokes in pesto!! That looks wonderful!!
On March 9, 2011 at 3:44 am
Curra says:
Realmente delicioso ese pesto de alcachofas.
Buen día
On March 9, 2011 at 4:33 am
Caffettiera says:
I’ll go hunting for frozen Egyptian artichokes at my local ethnic shop. They are convenient but often flavourless, but maybe I just bought the wrong brand so far. Thanks for this one.
On March 9, 2011 at 6:06 am
Steve @ HPD says:
oooh … this would (will) be a big hit in my house. cheers!
On March 9, 2011 at 8:26 am
Priya says:
Thats an interesting pesto, thanks for sharing..
On March 9, 2011 at 9:55 am
Sweet Artichoke says:
What a perfect dish! The artichoke pesto sounds wonderful! It’s been ages since i have not eaten hearts of palms and it is a delicious addition to the pesto and pasta!
On March 9, 2011 at 10:27 am
Tom @ Tall Clover says:
Joumana, I made a bunch of homegrown pesto last summer, only trouble was after opening the jars, it oxidized, not an appetizing color, black-green. 😉 So I really like this recipe, everything is on my love-it list and no scary color transformation in sight. Warm regards, Tom
On March 9, 2011 at 10:27 am
deana says:
That looks so good… never have thought to pesto artichokes, but why not? The flavors are all there and the bacon really is a great addition for us non-vegetarians… just a little bit! I like it because it’s things on hand so can be ready in a minute.
On March 9, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Devaki says:
This is so lovely Joumana – what is not to love with all these fabulous flavors! And just as you are learning so much from Mélanie Mercotte, I contnue to learnso much from you! aren’t we a lucky bunch, food bloggers? 🙂
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
On March 9, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Bria @ WestofPersia says:
Brilliant use of artichoke bottoms, and the cauli swap is smart and nutritious, not to mention economical. Btw, thanks for your comment re: the alleged time-consuming nature of certain cuisines. 😉 You are so right, fast and delicious is doable!
On March 9, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Adelina says:
I am always on the lookout for great pasta dishes. Thanks to you and Citron for this dish. All the great ingredients that I love in one dish.
On March 9, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Asia Janczak says:
I have never cooked with artichoke! I think it’s time to give it a try. I love the sound of this recipe 🙂 delicious!
On March 10, 2011 at 4:03 am
Peter says:
A gorgeous dish and filling one at that…gonna add this to the Lenten roster of dishes to try.
On March 10, 2011 at 7:14 pm
stacey snacks says:
I made a cauliflower pesto this winter, but I love this addition of artichokes.
Must try it!
Stacey
On March 10, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Tim says:
This looks amazing! A beautiful spring dish!
E.A.T.
On March 12, 2011 at 10:54 pm
Soma says:
This is such a lovely spring kind of dish. I cannot have enough of artichokes and I do have to give this a try.
On March 14, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Jess says:
Mmm! Looks delicious! I had this at school the other day, but you’d be surprised how hard it is to chew even pasta after getting your braces tightened.
On March 18, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Avelina Accad says:
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I over-processed the pesto (by accident) and what came out was this very creamy sauce almost like a hummus-like consistency. It was awesome.
On April 29, 2011 at 12:18 am
Sally says:
Just making this and it tastes so yummy!! Have yet to make the pasta but will report back. Love artichoke and hearts of palms.. not sure to add bacon but think I will stay true to recipe and give it a try. Very flavorful!!
On January 31, 2012 at 4:57 pm