Use your artichoke stems for an outstanding cream.
There is probably no vegetable I love more than Artichokes. Just to think that you are also eating what becomes a flower for me it is quite divine and stunning in its own way. When I buy artichokes, like every single week when in season, I waste nothing and I mean it. For me even the water where artichokes are boiled is pure gold. You can make risotto, stuffed artichokes, steamed artichokes, thinly sliced in salads, sautéed with potatoes as a side, and the list goes on. The reason why I find it important to talk about the stems is because it is often discarded. This recipe is so this shall never happen to you again and maybe the next time you buy artichokes it could be mainly for the stems!
This recipe is dedicated to the waste nothing concept that is dear to me while cooking. Artichokes are truly versatile and have so much nutritious fiber, protein, vitamin C, and are known to also purify the liver. This is a vegetable to introduce into your diet and is very impressionable with guests. I cannot tell you how many times I have bought artichokes while living abroad and very often the cashiers would ask me how and why I cook these vegetables. This is for my profound love for the goddess of all vegetables. Help me share artichoke awareness!
Ingredients:
- 4-5 Artichoke stems depending on the size
- 80gr of Pasta of choice per person
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 1 Peperoncino
- A handful of either Marjoram, Parsley or Mint
- 1 Lemon
- Aged Balsamic Vinegar (the thicker the better)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Rock salt
Preparation:
1.Bring water to a boil and add a spoon of rock salt with some lemon slices. The acidity in the lemon helps preserve the color of the stems. If you happen to not have lemon it is not a problem at all.
2.Peel the artichoke stems and once the water is boiling add the stems and cook for about 25 min or until a fork goes smoothly through them. Take the stems out to cool and save one cup of their cooking water.
3. Once the stems have cooled down, chop the stems finely and add to a blender with: minced garlic, marjoram (or parsley or mint) chili if you like spice, olive oil and some of the cooking water we have put aside. Blend until you reach a smooth consistency by adding extra oil and water when needed.
If you are sensitive to garlic you can just add it later to a hot pan with oil and infuse the garlic in the oil where we will finish cooking the pasta
4. Time to cook the pasta of choice for this recipe I used Bucatini. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a spoon of salt. Easiest way to understand the salt ratio is to taste the water. It should be salty!
5. While the pasta is cooking, prepare a pan where you will saute some garlic. Remove the garlic once it’s golden and add the pasta 5 minutes before its cooking time is over because we will finish cooking it with its water and the artichoke puree in the pan together.
6. Once you add the pasta add 2-3 ladles of cooking water (one at a time) and at the very last minute add 3 spoons of artichoke pureed.
7. Turn the heat off and if needed or desired add more artichoke puree stirring the pasta gently.
8. Plate and drizzle some aged balsamic over the pasta. The balsamic should not be liquid. You can store the leftover artichoke puree if you have any for up to 3 days in your fridge and use as a spread.
Buon appetito!
Ciao for now,
Stefy
