Friday, May 21, 2010

Grilled lemon artichokes with spinach and fettucine







I used fresh artichokes to make this recipe because that's what I had on hand; you could also use canned artichoke hearts to shorten the prep time, but they won't have the smoky depth of flavor that you get from grilling fresh artichokes.  For more information about preparing the artichokes for cooking, go here.  Basically, you need to get rid of all the poky parts; you'll know if you missed any because you'll stab your fingers and it will hurt way out of proportion.

1 lb baby artichokes, trimmed and stemmed, with outer petals removed
5 oz fresh spinach
8 oz fettucine noodles
fresh Parmesan cheese

Dressing:
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T. Dijon mustard


Heat up your grill (I used my panini press so I wouldn't lose any artichokes through the barbeque grill grate, since they sort of fell apart as I was preparing them.  You could also use a George Foreman or other countertop grill.  But seriously--I love my panini press and I use it to grill constantly, not just for paninis...so think about getting one.  :-)

Boil prepared artichokes until fork-tender, approximately 10 minutes.  Drain artichokes and immerse immediately in cold water to prevent further cooking.  Drain again once they've cooled; toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper (I use a Ziploc bag for this and just dump everything in together so I can be sure things are evenly coated).  Grill artichokes for about five minutes or until they're visibly browned. 

Start cooking your pasta.

Toss the artichokes with the dressing and let sit for half an hour or so, if possible (or you can just eat right away).  Toss with cooked pasta, several generous handfuls of torn-up spinach, and another generous handful or two of fresh Parmesan.  Voila!

2 comments:

Em said...

I like food and I like you, too! Wow this looks delicious. (PS I can't say that word without hearing Dora say DELICIOSO!)

stephmodo said...

This looks delicious Rachael!

I can't stop thinking about the cherry jam you mentioned :) Do you ever make it into filling?