rotini ai carciofi

First time buying (globe) artichoke; second time cooking it. I was feeling adventurous the other day and compulsively bought two globe artichokes. A quick search on the internet revealed that artichokes most commonly steamed and eaten with dips. The second most common way to cook these thistles is to bake them. I tried the latter: I baked them with some lemon juice, garlic, and basil pestos. My intention was to make both of them but Aaron suggested that I should only make one of them. He was right. Aside from the large amount of work involved in the preparation and trimming of the artichoke, I also did not realised how rich a whole artichoke could be!! One was plenty for the two of us to snack on. To be honest, I thought it was only okay, but I think that was because of the pesto I used-- a local Afghan pesto I bought from the Farmers' market that had more parsley than I liked ( no offense to the pesto, I am just not a parsley person ).

So that was my first time cooking an artichoke which left me with another one in the fridge. Following yesterday's post I decided to turn to Hazan for advise. There are two recipes in his book using artichokes: one is a tortellini and the other is Lumache ai Carciofi. The dish I made was inspired by this latter recipe. I didn't have any pancetta on hand and I was wanting a vegetarian dish, so I made a rotini with artichoke and carrots. Yes, I have carrots in the fridge. No, they are not the heirloom carrots. Although I know they are no longer in season, I still look out for them at the supermarkets, and being disappointed I would, more often than not, end up with a bunch of conventional orange carrots (sigh!).

Ingredients
1/2 lb wheat rotini ( wheat pasta will give it a grainy texture; if you like a smoother (creamier?) texture then keep to the normal type )
1 large globe artichoke heart; thinly sliced
1 Tbp butter
2 skinny long sticks of carrots; cross-sectionally sliced
1 clove of garlic; crushed
freshly ground salt and black pepper
couple pinches of dried thyme ( use double the amount of fresh thyme if available )
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Preparations
1. Cook pasta per instruction. When done, drain and coat with olive oil. Set aside.
2. Prepare artichoke per Hazan (p.126) or any other method you desire or can find on the internet (see here for example). Slice thinly and set aside. My inexperience at preparing the darn thing lead to a few fibrous pieces in the pasta, but no harm done =P ( Remember to keep cut artichokes in lemon water to keep them from discolouring. )
3. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat and saute garlic and carrots until carrots are slightly browned.
4. Add sliced artichoke (strain from lemon water first) to pan. Season with salt and pepper and add in the thyme. Toss until all ingredients are coated with the seasoning.
5. Add about 1/2 cup of water (or enough to cover at least 80% of the artichokes and carrots) and let simmer over high heat until artichokes are tender and all water evaporated (adding more water if needed).
6. Serve immediately with pasta and a handful of grated cheese.

Enjoy.