Friday, August 27, 2010

Spinach Artichoke Whole-Wheat Penne








Spinach Artichoke Whole-Wheat Penne
A great artichoke recipe ...try this one !

Artichoke recipes Ingredients :
* 1 pound whole-wheat penne pasta
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1 (15-ounce) can or 1 (10-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted, drained and quartered
* 1 small bundle farm fresh spinach, stems trimmed
* 1 shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped
* 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock, just eyeball the amount
* A handful fresh mint leaves
* A handful lightly toasted slivered almonds
* Kosher salt or freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
* 1 large clove garlic - peeled
* A handful grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Artichoke Recipes INSTRUCTIONS
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring up it up to a boil to cook the pasta, season with some salt and cook to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in medium nonstick skillet. Add artichokes to heat through and lightly brown at edges.

To clean spinach, fill sink with water, swish spinach around and let grit fall to bottom of sink. Dry leaves before using.

In the bowl of a food processor add the shallot, 1/2 cup chicken stock, spinach leaves, mint, almonds and salt and pepper, to taste. If you have a hand held small-holed grater or a zester, grate garlic into the food processor. Adding a whole clove can result in stray big pieces of raw garlic, too bitter to bite down on. If you do not have a hand held grater, mince garlic and mash up into paste with a little salt. Turn processor on and add in about 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.

Scrape the spinach pesto into the artichoke pan and loosely cover with foil. Bring mixture to a simmer over low to medium-low heat and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the reserved pasta cooking water, the pasta and the cheese. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce and heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and the artichoke recipe is ready to serve...nice ! Enjoy it !

Roasted Artichoke Salad

Roasted Artichoke Salad
A great artichoke recipe to try !

Artichoke Recipes Ingredients
* 4 boxes (9 ounces each) frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
* Good olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 shallot, minced
* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 5 tablespoons white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar, divided
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
* 6 tablespoons capers, drained
* 2 jars roasted red peppers, sliced thin
* 1/2 cup minced red onion
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
* 2 pinches hot red pepper flakes, optional

ARTICHOKES RECIPES INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the artichoke hearts in a bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss until the artichoke hearts are coated. Dump the artichoke hearts onto a sheet pan and spread out into 1 layer; roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. Place the minced shallot, lemon juice, mustard, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for 5 seconds. Add the basil leaves and process into a green puree. With the processor running, slowly pour 1/2 cup olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube until the ingredients are finely pureed. Set aside.

Place the roasted artichoke hearts in a bowl and toss with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Add the capers, red peppers, red onion, parsley, 4 tablespoons vinegar and red pepper flakes, if using, and toss gently. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and let stand for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. The artichoke recipe is ready to serve at room temperature...nice ! Enjoy it !
Shrimp-artichoke-stuffed-fish

amz