Spaghetti alla Chitarra and Artichoke, Pistacchio, Marjoram & Mint Pesto

What do Italians do when you have a ton of greens about to wilt or tons of veggies you don’t know what to do with?  You make a pesto of course! You could also make a crema which is a creamy sauce sans nuts made with vegetables that have been cooked in some kind of soffritto, then pureed.

While in Italy we eat seasonally, and we tend to buy just enough fresh ingredients for a few days as opposed to buying in bulk sometimes there is an offer too good to refuse at the market.  When certain vegetables are in season, you can buy exactly as needed but sometimes there is just an overabundance of certain veggies that if not sold will go bad quickly i.e. artichokes.  Lately, they’ve been 10 for 4 Euros which is such an amazing deal, and I usually get 5 because I like nice, quick round calculations when I shop at the farmers market however 5 is still more than I’d use for myself.  As a result, when I deep cleaned my fridge yesterday I found 6 artichokes.  These can turn quite quickly so to make something I can use all 6 for I decided to make an artichoke pesto.  Pesto is fantastic with pasta, you just add some of the pasta cooking water to marry the sauce to the pesto.  Artichoke also classically pairs with prosciutto, so you can use it as a spread for a wrap or sandwich with ham or turkey.  

I am making it with spaghetti alla chitarra, which is a hand-rolled pasta that is rolled over this contraption called a chitarra.  Chitarra translates to guitar and is a wooden box with strings that you roll the dough over.  This is a flat, squarish shape.  It's thinner than tagliatelle, but wider than tagliolini and has a nice thickness that gives the pasta a nice texture.  You can also make this with store-bought fresh pasta, or a dried pasta shape.  

You can certainly make this easier by using canned, marinated, or frozen artichokes.  Just keep in mind with the marinated that the flavors and spices used pair well with your finished dish.

Spaghetti alla Chitarra and Artichoke, Pistacchio, Marjoram & Mint Pesto

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

6 small artichokes or 3 large artichokes
½ a lemon
2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon dried marjoram or a few sprigs of fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon mint, finely chopped
½ a cup grated pecorino
1 TB pistachio, chopped
EVOO as needed
Salt to taste
2 portions of spaghetti alla chitarra or your favorite fresh long pasta shape

Note: This can easily be adjusted to use marinated or canned artichokes.  You would skip to the part of blending the pesto.  Keep in mind that marinated artichokes have spices already blended in, adding the grated cheese would be great but decide to your personal taste if you still want to add the above recommended herbs. Lastly, if there is any leftover pesto after making this dish you want to put it in a small container and cover it with EVOO to prevent oxidation.  It will last a few days in the

Method:

Clean the fresh artichokes, using the lemon listed in the ingredients and a bowl of water.  Linking video below with instructions on how to clean the artichokes.  Chop them into 1 to 2-inch pieces after they have been cleaned and leave them in the lemon water until it’s time to cook them.

If you’d like to use canned or frozen artichokes, you can proceed with the rest of the recipe.  In a saute pan, drizzle some EVOO and add the 2 smashed garlic cloves.  Cook the garlic on low to medium heat for a few minutes until golden. Once the garlic is golden, carefully lift or drain the artichoke out of the lemon water and add to the pan.  Sautee for one to two minutes to meld the flavors together, then add water to just barely cover the top of the artichokes.  Bring the water to a simmer and cook on medium heat.  The water will evaporate, and you will know the artichokes are done by piercing them with a fork, and when the fork goes through they are done.  If you need to add a tiny bit of water because they aren’t fully cooked, go ahead and add until they are cooked through.

Once the artichokes are cooked we are ready to make the pesto. Typically pesto has grated cheese and nuts. I am going to blend everything except the nuts and add them to the top of the plated pasta instead to have more texture. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the artichokes, marjoram, and mint. If you need to add a drizzle of oil to get the artichokes blending, go ahead and add a tiny splash. Once the artichokes are a creamy consistency add the grated cheese and blend. At this point taste and add salt as needed.

Spaghetti alla Chitarra

Cook your pasta according to package instructions. Pesto in general is a no-cook sauce because the components are meant to be had fresh or made of pre-cooked ingredients like in this case. When the pasta is cooked, drain reserving the cooking water, and add the pasta to a bowl or pan. You want to choose a bowl or pan that is big enough to stir in the pesto. Add about half the pesto, stir well and add some of the cooking water a splash at a time until thoroughly mixed. If you need to add more pesto, add as needed. Plate your pasta and sprinkle with the chopped pistachio and additional chopped fresh mint if desired. Enjoy!