Artichoke and ricotta tagliatelle

Artichoke-and-ricotta tagliatelle recipe

Preparation and cooking

• - Prepare artichokes.
  Snap off their stalk close to the base, pulling out any fibres which would extend into the bottom.
  Cut off their pointed top and, using kitchen scissors, trim leaves to remove spines and any brown edges.
  Cut every artichokes in quarters and plunge them in lemon water.
  Your artichokes are ready to be cooked.
  Finally cut them into very thin slices but just before putting them in the pan.
• - Prepare pasta sauce.
  Saute leek in the olive oil, stirring frequently.
  Add artichokes and flavor for few minutes, stirring.
  Season to taste with salt.
  Add half a glass of water and cook for 20 - 25 minutes on medium heat until cooking juice is reduced.
  A couple of minutes before turning off your stove, add chives and parsley.
  Stir.
• - Cook tagliatelle.
  Boil tagliatelle in plenty of salted water following the directions on the package.
  
• - Meanwhile your tagliatelle is boiling, take a couple of spoons boiling water and melt ricotta cheese in a large bowl.

Just before serving

• - Drain your tagliatelle very well, transfer onto the bowl and combine with the artichoke sauce too.
• - Stir gently and serve at once.

Note

Tips

• - You can prepare artichoke sauce the day before.
• - My husband and I often make a healthier sauce without sauteing leek in olive oil.
  We put all ingredients in the pan except olive oil and cook until cooking juice is well reduced. Then we turn off our stove, add olive oil and stir.
  It's a new method to taste olive oil and make good use of its nutritive properties.
• - 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!

Menu planning

• - This is a typical dish in spring when artichokes can be found easily all over the world. It's a successful dish. Think of it planning a ceremony menu in this season. In this last case doses are enough for more people (at least 10 people).

Useful links for this recipe

• - Tagliatelle with ricotta and artichokes is ideal for your Easter lunch. Read more on the page dedicated to: Easter menu.

Healthy eating

• - This is a dish rich in ingredients and so I generally use a smaller amount of tagliatelle; in this way I lower calories and carbohydrates. Complete your meal with seasonal raw or boiled vegetable seasoned with a teaspoon olive oil and finally fresh fruit.
  Here are the doses per head: 50g (1 3/4 ounce) tagliatelle, an artichoke (use the amount you want with no limit), and 40g (1 1/2 ounce) ricotta cheese, aromatic herbs and 2 teaspoons olive oil. It's a satisfying dish!
• - As I've just written you can also choose this recipe for an important dinner menu or a celebration menu. Don't worry about fat, calories, sugars ... it happens rarely, doesn't it?
• - This tagliatelle dish is tossed with a sauce without tomatoes and so it's ideal for people who can't eat tomatoes.
• - I remember you artichokes are an example of 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 in dried leaves and stems too. Cynarin increases bile production, makes easy the digestion, helps liver function, lowers HDL/LDL ratio. This reduces cholesterol levels, which diminishes the risk for arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

Loretta

What's the right wine ?

My husband and I generally pair an amber beer to this pasta recipe. In fact wine isn't suggested for the presence of artichokes.