Spaghetti Con Carciofi Freschi

Photo: Patricia Turo

Ingredients

1 pound Sapghetti

16 smalls artichokes, cleaned and chopped

2 inches plum tomatoes, chopped or 10 cherry tomatoes cut half

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 whole cloves of garlic

1/2 lemon plus juice

1/2 cup white wine

1 inch pepperoncino, broken half

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Chopped parsley, as garnish

Preparation

Clean the artichokes by cutting the top off about 1/4” of the way down. Remove the outer leaves by pulling them down and snapping them off. Remove all of the outer leaves until you reach the white/yellow leaves. Remove the stem and cut around the bottom to remove any dark, hard or stringy part. Cut the choke in half and clean out the hay with a melon baler or a small spoon. Cut the halves lengthwise into 1/8” thick slivers.

In a bowl of water with some lemon juice & 1/2 lemon added, put the sliced artichokes in the water. This will keep them from turning brown.

In a frying pan, add the olive oil, garlic, pepperoncino and sauté the artichokes for about 5 minutes. Add the wine and the chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes at the end and cook for a few minutes longer until the artichokes are slightly soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the spaghetti and add it to the pan with the artichokes and finish the cooking adding a little pasta water as needed. Garnish the pasta with freshly chopped parsley. http://turosdolci.wordpress.com