Artichoke is a vegetable I absolutely love but to be honest I cook with it way too little. So I’m challenging myself and you to cook more with this beautiful thistle. Today we are making a creamy artichoke, (almond) ricotta and pancetta linguine. Picture this al dente pasta tossed in a creamy, luscious, bacony sauce with loads of parmesan then topped with in olive oil crispy fried artichokes. I’m literally drooling whilst i’m writing this down cause this might be my new favorite way to eat artichokes, eventough whole steamed artichokes with olives and a shallot vinaigrette on a hot day is hard to beat.

vegan linguine with artichokes, ricotta and bacon

There are a ton of different artichoke variaties. Just to list a few:

Baby Anzio Artichoke

Big Heart Artichoke

Castel Artichoke

Chianti Artichoke

Fiesole Artichoke

Now I’m no artichoke connoisseur so don’t ask me which one I used in the picture above. I think it’s a chianti or fiesole but I’m not sure. However, you can use any artichoke of choice for this recipe. Just stay away from the big ones as they are better for whole steaming. So any smaller artichoke variety works here.

Before we start cooking I wanted to explain first how to properly clean artichokes.

What you’ll need:

Fresh artichokes
Lemon (optional)
A sharp knife
Kitchen shears

Instructions:

Select Fresh Artichokes: Choose artichokes that are firm and have tightly closed leaves. Avoid artichokes with dry or brown patches.
Prepare a Lemon-Water Bath (Optional): Fill a bowl with cold water and add the juice of a lemon to it. This step helps prevent the artichokes from browning as you work on them.
Trim the Stem: Lay the artichoke on its side and use a sharp knife to cut off the stem flush with the base. The stem is edible, so you can choose to leave a bit of it attached if you like. If you prefer to remove it entirely, slice it off completely.
Remove the Top Third: Place the artichoke on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice off about one-third of the artichoke from the top, removing the tips of the leaves. This exposes the inner choke and the heart.
Snip the Thorns: With kitchen shears, trim the thorny tips from the remaining leaves. Be sure to go around the entire artichoke, snipping off any sharp points.
Remove the Choke: The choke is the inedible, fuzzy center of the artichoke. Slice the aetichoke in half and use a spoon or serrated knife to carefully scoop out the choke, making sure to get all of it. You'll be left with the heart and the meaty bottom part of the leaves.
Optional: Rub with Lemon Juice: To prevent browning, you can rub the exposed surfaces of the artichoke with lemon juice or place it in the lemon-water bath you prepared earlier.

Once you cleaned your artichokes we are ready to cook!

Recipe

serves 2 people

Ingredients

200-300 gr linguine or spaghetti
3 artichokes thinly sliced, see my cleaning guide above
120 gr of almond ricotta, recipe here
120 gr of vegan bacon bits of choice, my favorite brand is vivera
vegan parmesan cheese or nutritonal yeast, to taste
salt and pepper
olive oil
flat leaf parsley to serve

How to

Bring some lightly slated water to a boil for the pasta.
Heat up some olive oil, once hot fry the thinly sliced artichokes until crispy and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Put aside.
Cook the pasta al dente and reserve some of the cooking water before draining for the sauce.
In the same pan you fried the artichokes add the bacon and fry until crispy.
Add the ricotta, cheese and pasta water and stir until it forms a cream.
Add the cooked pasta, some more pasta water if needed and toss to coat.
Add in half of the fried artichokes and toss again.
Serve with the other half of the artichokes on top and some fresh parsley.
Buon appetito!