Artichoke & Lemon Pasta (w/ asparagus)
from https://www.tasteofhome.com/
While sailing in the Mediterranean, we tasted a lemony artichoke pasta. I developed my own version of it that our guests love. Try it with shrimp and kalamata olives. —Peter Halferty, Corpus Christi, Texas. Reviewers also loved it.
You could substitute fresh green beans for the asparagus in the summer.
Cori and I made this. We liked it a lot - nice and lemony, great on a hot day - but you could not taste the artichokes and "Artichoke" is in the name of the pasta dish. I followed the instructions and the asparagus was cooked perfectly. I didn't dirty two pans. After cooking the pasta (we used whole grain penne), I used the same pan to cook the artichokes and garlic (the artichokes fell apart), then added the rest of the ingredients, mixed and heated it. I used a small log of goat cheese, not feta. We also added some left over spinach at the end along with the parsley. Next time I would leave the artichokes whole and use twice as many.
I froze the leftover and did not like them as much.
We got 3 main dish servings from half a recipe.
2-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
4 cups uncooked bow tie pasta (about 12 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 can (14 ounces) water-packed quartered artichoke hearts, well drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup crumbled goat cheese [in the video, it looked like feta]
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fill a 6-qt. stockpot three-fourths full with water; add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil. Add asparagus; cook, uncovered, 1-2 minutes or just until crisp-tender. Remove asparagus and immediately drop into ice water. Drain and pat dry.
In same pot of water, cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Return pasta to pot.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add artichoke hearts; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add to pasta.
Add asparagus, goat cheese, parsley, lemon peel, lemon juice and the remaining salt and oil; toss to combine, adding enough reserved pasta water to coat. Heat through. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Yield: 6 servings
