Artichoke Avocado and Parmesan Pasta ©

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a great recipe for all those artichoke lovers out there! I love artichokes and they are now in season, so I decided to combine my  two favorite things, artichokes and avocado and see what they would be like together. The result is a delicious creamy pasta.

 

 

 

Easy

 

 

 

4 Persons

 

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

 

 

Ingredients

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

25 g butter

390 g tin artichoke hearts in brine or fresh artichokes

1 ripe avocado

150 ml or more of cream (Light)

100 g grated parmesan

250 g Fusilli Pasta or other pasta of your choice

1/2 lemon juice

salt freshly grated black pepper

1 tbs chopped parsley and paprika for garnish

 

 

Method

1. Place salted pasta water onto boil. Place serving bowl and plates in oven to warm 50.C

2. Open your tin of artichoke hearts and soak in a bowl of water to get rid of brine.

If you have time, opt for fresh artichokes, boil globes in salted water, to which you have added 1 lemon juice, to stop artichokes from browning. The artichokes are ready when the point of a knife enters easily. 10-15 minutes, depending on size. Peel off leaves until you reach the white heart. Trim back center leaves and remove all ‘choke’ from center with a teaspoon. You will be left with the heart resembling the shape of a flying saucer!

3. Drain artichoke hearts upside down on kitchen paper and place in blender. Blend until smooth.

Once your pasta water is boiling add pasta. Try after eight minutes. It is important to cook it just enough, slightly firm and not over boil to soft.

4. Finely chop your onion and garlic and place in small saucepan together with butter and sweat over a low heat for 3-4 minutes stirring. Do not brown. Grate parmesan and finely chop parsley.

5. Add your artichokes, cream and seasoning and heat through. Do not boil. Remove from heat.

6. Lastly peel your avocado, add to blender together with lemon juice to prevent browning, blend and add to saucepan, together with parmesan. Place over heat, only to heat through, again do not boil.

5. As soon as your pasta is ‘al dente’ drain and place in heated serving bowl and add cream sauce. Mix well and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and sweet paprika. This paprika is not hot. Tidy the sides of your dish with kitchen paper, so that the sides of your bowl are clean.

 

N.B. Essential to this recipe is the cream and lemon, otherwise the sauce browns with in five minutes. I use Fusilli pasta, because the grooves hold the sauce well.

 

 

 

This is what you are aiming for.

 

 

 

Gather together your ingredients, before you start cooking. Put salted pasta water onto boil and place serving dish and

plates in oven 50.C. to heat through.

Soak artichoke hearts in water for five to ten minutes to get rid of brine.

 

Drain on kitchen paper and place in blender.

 

Blend until nearly smooth.

 

Chop onions and garlic.

 

Add to saucepan with melted butter and sweat over a low heat for 3-5 minutes. Do not  allow to brown.

 

Grate parmesan on fine grater.

 

Chop parsley.

When your pasta water comes to the boil add pasta. Boil rapidly for 8 minutes and then test for doneness. Don’t over

cook pasta, it should be ‘al dente,’ therefore have a little bite to it and not totally soft. When you over cook pasta, your dish

is then heavy.

Lastly peel avocado and add to blender together with lemon juice. I do this at the end, so that the avocado does not brown.

 

Blend until almost smooth.

 

Add  blended artichokes to onions and garlic.Heat through, but do not boil.

 

Add blended avocado, cream and seasoning.

 

Add parmesan and mix well. Just heat through, again with out boiling.

 

Place drained pasta in pre- heated bowl, mix well with sauce and sprinkle with chopped parsley and paprika.

 

Delicious!