Description
Creamy pasta with artichoke sauce brings Mediterranean flavors to dinner tables. Hearty ingredients combine for a simple yet elegant Italian-inspired meal you’ll savor with each delightful bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 12 oz (340 g) pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, or penne)
- 1 can (14 oz) or jar (1216 oz) artichoke hearts (drained and roughly chopped)
- ½ cup heavy cream (or Greek yogurt for a lighter version)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup vegetable or chicken broth (or pasta water for extra silkiness)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (for brightness)
- ½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley or basil, chopped (for garnish)
- Salted water (for boiling the pasta)
Instructions
- Pot Preparation: Fill a large pot with water, generously season with salt, and heat to a vigorous boil over high flame.
- Pasta Cooking: Introduce pasta into rapidly boiling water, intermittently stirring to prevent clumping, and cook until achieving an al dente texture with a subtle resistance when tasted.
- Liquid Preservation: Prior to straining, extract a half cup of starchy pasta water, which will serve as a critical emulsification agent for the sauce’s smoothness.
- Pasta Handling: Drain pasta thoroughly in a colander, allowing complete water removal, and temporarily reserve for sauce integration.
- Artichoke Sauce Creation: In a separate skillet, sauté minced garlic and shallots until translucent, then introduce quartered artichoke hearts, allowing them to caramelize slightly.
- Sauce Enhancement: Deglaze the pan with white wine, incorporating heavy cream, grated parmesan, and reserved pasta water, stirring continuously to create a silky, cohesive sauce.
- Final Assembly: Gently fold cooked pasta into the artichoke cream sauce, ensuring each strand is luxuriously coated, and finish with fresh chopped parsley, cracked black pepper, and a final dusting of parmesan.
Notes
- Select Optimal Pot Size: Choose a wide, deep pot to allow pasta ample space for even cooking and prevent clumping.
- Master Salting Technique: Add enough salt to make the water taste like seawater, ensuring pasta absorbs flavor during cooking.
- Preserve Starchy Liquid: Reserve pasta water before draining, as its starchy composition helps create a silky, cohesive sauce with better binding properties.
- Check Pasta Doneness: Test pasta texture by tasting – it should have a slight firmness (al dente) to maintain optimal texture and prevent mushiness.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 500 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg