We have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, something we both enjoy. Lockdown cooking is not that much different from our usual style of cooking. We read recipes all the time, using our own books or on the internet, so we use whatever we have at hand while incorporating an element or unusual (for us) idea in the cooking of the day. We love artichokes and a friend did not want the ones from her garden, so I harvested them for us. I read a very simple recipe from Benedetta, who has several cooking videos on YouTube, for a pasta sauce and it was good enough to try and share.
4 Big Artichokes or the equivalent of small ones
100 g Guanciale made by me (the recipe calls for prosciutto and you are lucky if you have some)
100 g Pancetta made made by me
100 g Salami made by me
1/2 Glass white wine made by me
1/2 Cup cream, mine was sour so I used a few spoonfuls of ricotta which I make every week from milk collected from HolyCow in Port Chalmers
1/2 Cup cooking oil
Pepper
Linguini for 2 (I was too lazy to make fresh Tagliatella)
Cut about 1/3 off from the bottom of the artichoke and discard. Snap all the green leaves off the artichokes and discard leaving only the soft white parts. Pare the green bits off the base of the artichoke, remove the choke and discard. Cut the artichoke into slices about 15 mm thick set aside.
Put the pasta in the salted boiling water while you make the sauce.
Pour the olive oil in a pot big enough to contain all the ingredients including the pasta. Fry the meats for a few minutes and add the artichokes. Fry the artichokes for a few minutes, then add the wine. Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Mix everything and pour the cream over the contents of the pot, add pepper to taste (do not add salt as the meats are salty enough ). Mix again and serve with grated Parmigiano (In my case my own made hard grating cheese)
DELICIOUS !!
ENJOY with a couple of glasses of home made RED WINE !!