I have decided lately that I love artichokes. In anything. It really doesn’t matter where they are, they’re delicious. But I especially love them in pasta. The creamy sauce and firm pasta go perfectly with soft artichoke hearts.

So why not throw some spinach (another favorite) in there and call it a day? It works with every other dish…

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 cans quartered artichoke hearts
• 2 bunches of spinach (or one big bag of baby spinach)
• 12 oz. penne pasta, cooked to al dente
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 C. flour
• 3 C. milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 C. parmesan
• 2 C. mozzarella plus extra, for topping

First things first. This can says “quartered” right? Because that artichoke (and the rest of them in the jar ) are definitely not quartered. Oddly, the other can was the same way…

Step 1:  Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Set it aside. Melt 4 Tbsp. of the butter in a pot. Add the minced garlic and cook until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant. Add the spinach and cover until it’s wilted.

PS: This is only one bunch of spinach. It was not enough.

Step 2: Once the spinach is wilted, remove it from the pot and set it aside. In the same pot, add some more butter and the quartered artichokes. Saute them until they have some color. At this point you can remove the artichokes to the same plate as the spinach if you’d like them to retain their shape. I like to have them broken up in my pasta so that each bite has some artichoke, so I left them in the pot and mixed my sauce with them in it.

Step 3: Add the flour to the pot and stir to combine. Slowly add the milk, stirring all the time to keep things smooth. Heat the sauce until it just starts to bubble, then add the grated parmesan and shredded mozzarella. Let the cheese melt and add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4: Mix the pasta and spinach (and artichokes if you set them aside) in a casserole dish. Pour the sauce over them and stir it a little bit to coat everything. Top with a little extra mozzerella.

Bake the pasta at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes covered. Then remove the cover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.

This dish is highly remeniscent of spinach artichoke dip , only I feel that I can more easily justify it as a dinner (not that we haven’t had the spinach artichoke dip for dinner before). If you like artichokes, this one if for you.

The Wife