Carla Lalli Music's Spaghetti with Braised Artichokes
If you haven’t heard of Carla Lalli Music, it is in your best interest to go on to youtube and watch her clips with Bon Appétit . I have become obsessed with her. She is the super talented Food Director for Bon Appétit …and she loves cats. She has spent her time cooking up master pieces behind the spotlight and I am so happy she is getting recognition. She is the type of person I think young men and women should look up to. She is real and a real badass.
Anyways, now that you have read how obsessed I am with her as person, I am now in love with her recipes from her new cook book, WHERE COOKING BEGINS. Go buy it! For those who know me I LOVE PASTA. I could eat it every day, anytime and forever. This recipe is a new favorite for Tyler and I because how few ingredients are involved. It does takes some time to clean and peal the artichokes but its worth it. Check it out, tell us what you think or if you have tried any of her new recipes. In the mean time, watch her cook back to back with Natalie Portman, she does this series with Bon Appétit . Check our first time trying her AMAZING Spaghetti with Braised Artichokes:
NEED:
2 Lemons, halved
3 large artichokes
Kosher salt
10 Garlic cloves (about 1 head), smashed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves
1/3 cup white wine
1 pound Spaghetti
Crushed red pepper and grated Parmigiano, for serving
DO:
Fill a large bowl with cold water, squeeze in juice from 2 lemon halves, then drop squeezed-out halves into water. This is acidulated water and it will prevent the artichokes from oxidizing and turning brown as they soak.
One artichoke at a time, use a serrated knife to trim stem, leaving as much of it intact as possible. Rub cut end with a lemon half. Snap off outermost leaves, then use knife to cut off top two-thirds of pointed end, exposing fuzzy choke. Rub cut edges with lemon. Working your way around, continue to snap off leaves until you get down to the tender pale green-yellow ones.
Using a paring knife to shave off the rough bits where the leaves were attached to base, then use a vegetable peeler to peel the stem to expose the light green layer. Rub lemon all over the stem.
Cut artichoke lengthwise into quarters or sixths if large, then use a paring knife to cut out choke (the bristly fine leaves that sit on top of the saucer-shaped heart). Drop trimmed quarters into lemon water and repeat with remaining artichokes. It does take time to do the artichoke part, but SO worth it. We promise!
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Place garlic in a deep, wide skillet or small Dutch oven and add oil. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until oil is sizzling around garlic, about 2 minutes. Season with a big pinch of salt and many cranks of black pepper and cook, using a spoon to break the garlic into smaller pieces, until it is a pale golden and very fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Lift out artichoke pieces and shake off excess water. Carefully add to pan with oil and garlic; the liquid may sputter so be careful!
Add half of the parsley, season with salt, and stir to coat with oil. Cook until artichokes are vibrant green, about 2 minutes. Add wine, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until wine is reduced by half. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until a cake tester slides easily into thickets part of artichoke, about 5 minutes.
Add spaghetti to the boiling water and set a timer for 2 to 3 minutes less than package instructions (it should be very al dente and will finish cooking in the sauce). Using a mesh spider or tongs, transfer spaghetti directly to artichoke mixture (still over medium heat). Gently toss pasta into sauce, adding splashes of pasta water as needed to generously coat spaghetti. Simmer, tossing constantly but without breaking artichokes into pieces, until it looks plenty saucy in bottom of pan, 2-3 minutes. Add remaining parsley and squeeze in juice from remaining lemon half and toss to combine. Serve pasta with crushed red pepper and Parmigiano.
