(Tagliatelle tossed with artichoke and ricotta sauce - Our original home cooking)

tagliatelle recipe Italian style, tagliatelle are tossed with artichoke and ricotta cheese sauce

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6 - 8 fresh artichokes (about 2.2 lb)
Bunch of parsley, finely chopped
Little bunch of chives, finely chopped
200 g (7 oz) leek
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
250 g (8 1/2 oz) "ricotta" cheese
300g (10 1/2 oz) dry thin noodles (tagliatelle)
Salt

Time:
preparation: 40 minutes
cooking: 45 minutes
Difficulty:
easy recipe
Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 357 (kCal) 18 % GDA - 1495 (kJ)
Protein: 12.4 (g) 24 % GDA
Total fat: 16.1 (g) 23 % GDA
Total carbohydrate: 41.0 (g) 15 % GDA
Sugars: 6.0 (g) 7 % GDA

Tagliatelle with ricotta cheese and artichokes is a dish we prepare very often. It's very tasty for our guests!

Prepare artichokes. Snap off the stalk close to the base, pulling out any fibres which would extend into the bottom. Cut off the pointed top and, using kitchen scissors, trim the leaves to remove spines and any brown edges. Cut every artichokes in quarters and plunge them in lemon water. The artichokes are ready to be cooked. If you want more details about cleaning the artichokes read the memebers-only area. Finally cut them into very thin slices but just before putting them in the pan.
Peel and slice diagonally the leek. Put the artichokes, leek, chives and parsley in a saucepan. Add half a glass of water, season to taste with salt and cook for 20 - 25 minutes on medium heat until the cooking juice is reduced. Switch off the gas, add the olive oil and stir.
Boil the tagliatelle in plenty of salted water. Follow our instructions. While the tagliatelle are boiling, take a couple of spoons of boiling water and melt the ricotta cheese in a large bowl. Drain the tagliatelle very well, dress them with the artichokes sauce and add all to the ricotta cheese in the bowl; stir gently and serve at once.

Note

- You can prepare the artichoke sauce the day before.
- As you can read we prepare the sauce without sauteing the leek in the olive oil. We put the ingredients in the pan except the oil and cook until the cooking juice is well reduced. Then we switch off the gas, add the olive oil and stir. It's a new method to taste the olive oil and make good use of its nutritive properties.
If you want you can prepare the sauce in the traditional way sauteing the leek in the olive oil and then adding the other ingredients.
- Use dried aromatic herbs if you have no time (an abundant tablespoon of everyone)
- If you have some pasta left you can warm it up the day after with success: it tastes fantastic!
- This is a typical dish in spring when artichokes can be found easily all over the world. Its a successful dish. Think of it planning a ceremony menu in this season.

Healthy eating

- Tagliatelle are tossed with a sauce without tomatoes and so this dish is ideal for people who can't eat tomatoes.
- This is a dish rich in ingredients and so we use a smaller amount of tagliatelle; in this way we lower calories and carbohydrates. Doses per serving are: 50 g (1 3/4 oz) of tagliatelle, an artichoke (use the amount you want with no limit), and 40 g (1 1/2 oz) of ricotta cheese.
- We remember you the artichokes are healthy food. They are rich in water, fiber and very low in fat, calories and carbo. The artichokes have also a lot of cynarin. It is located especially in the pulp of the leaves but also in dried leaves and stems. Cynarin increases bile production, makes easy the digestion, helps the liver function, lowers HDL/LDL ratio. This reduces cholesterol levels, which diminishes the risk for arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
- This is a typical first course according to an Italian menu. If you choose it in your weekly menu remember it's so rich in ingredients that you can complete your meal only with raw or boiled or steamed vegetables seasoned with a teaspoon of olive oil per serving and at last fresh fruit.
On the contrary if you want to serve it in an important ceremony or celebration menu the doses are enough for more people (at least 10 people).
- If you want to drink a glass of wine remember you have to add 80-85 kCal per 100 ml.
- We remember you our original home recipes can be made without salt; there is a combination of flavours that substitutes salt. Other no salt recipes ...