SPAGHETTI w/BABY ARTICHOKES & CAPERS

By BobD

Ingredients

• • 2 pounds baby artichokes
• • 1/4 cup capers, drained
• • 4 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
• • 6 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
• • 1 tablespoon olive oil
• • 1 package spaghetti
• • 2 cups pasta water
• • 1 tablespoon sweet butter
• • Sea salt and pepper
• • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1. Have a bowl of water with the juice of half a lemon standing by. Pull off the darker leaves from each artichoke, leaving only the inner, light green ones. Cut off the sharp tips and trim the stringy parts from the bottoms. Drop the trimmed artichokes (still whole) into the acidified water so they don’t discolor.

2. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic, shallots and capers until lightly browned. Season with sea salt and pepper. Remove and set aside, leaving the seasoned oil in the pan.

3. Using a sharp chefs' or Japanese vegetable knife, slice the artichokes into 1/4-inch longitudinal cross-sections. On a medium-low flame sauté until crispy brown on both sides. Work in batches, removing the finished slices to a paper towel to drain. Drizzle the pan with more olive oil as needed.

4. Cook the spaghetti in salted water. When you drain the pasta, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water. Deglaze the pan with butter and 1 cup of the pasta water. Put the capers-garlic-shallots sauté back in the pan. Mix well and reduce the volume of the liquid by half. Add the spaghetti and toss to coat. If the sauce needs more liquid, add a little more pasta water. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve the pasta topped with the crispy baby artichoke slices and Parmesan