A Taste of Summer During This Weird Semi-Heatwave in November

Ok. I promise I'll stop posting only pasta recipes. Someday. Maybe...

I know artichokes aren't exactly "in season", but hey. It was 65 the other day. Also, I happened to have frozen artichokes. So there.

Artichokes, for most of us, come in the form of the "Spinach &" dip so popular in restaurants requiring servers to have "flair", and while it's delicious most of those recipes are weighed down with sour cream and cheese (delicious delicious cheese). Actually, though, artichokes are extremely good for you - especially for your liver. Artichokes are an excellent source of dietary fiber, magnesium, vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin A, biotin, niacin, and a bunch of other "-ins". Yay artichokes.

I made this the other day when I was home alone (dinner for one...womp womp) and I was very glad I did, but as a result, the ratios might be a bit wonky. So, as with anything in the kitchen, I must ask for some patience.

Artichoke and Lemon Linguini
Serves about 3

2 leeks, trimmed, rinsed and patted dry
2 cloves of garlic
1 bag of frozen artichokes (thawed)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups of white wine
1 cup of arugula

Linguini

Grilled chicken (optional)

Start with the leeks - I bought them already trimmed and washed at Trader Joe's (ah, laziness), but if you can't find them already cleaned for you just cut off the tough dark green part and cut them down the middle length-wise (hot-dog style for those who still think in terms of elementary-school crafts). Run them under the sink and make sure you really get in there and get all the sand and dirt out of there. Sand is great at the beach, but has no place in your linguini. None at all. Pat them dry and chop em up.


(Oh, p.s. start boiling up some salted water for your linguini. Cook that according to the boxes directions....You get the idea. It's pasta!) Heat up your sautee pan over medium heat. Sautee your leeks with about 3 cloves of finely minced garlic. Salt and pepper those babies up and let them cook until soft.


At this point you're going to want to throw in your thawed artichokes, lemon zest, lemon juice and wine. Cover and let simmer for a while and let all those yummy ingredients get all friendly-like. After a few minutes or so throw in the arugula and let that get wilted and delicious. Once your linguini is cooked to your liking just toss it in the pan that you've been cooking your sauce in.


Ta-Da! You now have Summer in Almost-Winter-But-Really-It's-Fall in a bowl. Enjoy!