Pasta with roasted artichokes and preserved lemon

My favorite food podcast host, Dan Pashman, released his first cookbook, Anything's Pastable. Pashman is known for being really thoughtful and obsessive about food, and I've picked up lots of nuggets of wisdom from the book that I've incorporated into my daily cooking. However, it was finally time for me to actually cook a whole recipe from the book! I decided to start with Cavatelli and Roasted Artichokes and Preserved Lemons, because he described its recipe development on the pod, and he also named it one of his top five sleeper hits of the book. The recipe was also exciting because it used some ingredients and techniques that were new to me.

I've been wanting an excuse to work with preserved lemons for a while. I couldn't find it at my local grocery store or Trader Joe's, but I was able find it for a decent price on Amazon. They have a tangy, funky, salty flavor that adds a lot to dishes. I plan to make a paste with some of them to use in dressings and sauces as well.

I love artichokes, but I never thought to roast canned hearts before. Pashman's technique is simple and delicious. The roasted artichokes taste great in the pasta but could also stand on their own as a tasty appetizer with some aioli.

I followed Pashman's recipe pretty closely, but you know I had to make a few changes to streamline things. Dan's recipe suggested sautéing garlic in a separate pan and then adding it to the pasta. I skipped that step because I like to boost flavor as much as possible and simply in the process. I'm not afraid of a little raw garlic since it will cook and mellow in the hot pasta. So, I add finely minced garlic directly to the cooked pasta, which saves an extra step and pan.

I like really bold flavors, and I find that I often prefer to add more seasoning elements than many recipes call for, so I tasted as I went along. I found that adding more preserved lemon, capers, and cheese suited my taste better, so my recipe includes those adjustments. I also noticed that Pashman's suggested amount of olive oil was too much for my liking, maybe since I didn't sauté the garlic in oil, so, I reduced it by a couple of tablespoons.

I highly recommend checking out the book. The recipes are great, and there are lots of interesting ideas about food that can inspire you to think in new ways. I'm excited to try more of his recipes!

Pasta with roasted artichokes and preserved lemon

3 14 oz cans quartered artichokes, drained and patted dry
1 lb pasta (I used farfalle
1 t salt
5 T olive oil
1 lb pasta (Pashman recommends cavatelli or gemilli, which I didn't have access to, so I used farfalle)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced (I like it extra garlicy, so I do 4)
1 medium preserved lemon, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup finely chopped)
2 heaping T capers
lots of black pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 oz Parmesan or Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 450. Toss artichokes with 3 T oil. Roast on a sheet pan 18-22 min, stirring and turning the pan halfway through. 

Boil pasta with t t salt until al dente. My favorite way to do this is to use less water than is traditional, which is more eco-friendly and concentrates the starchy pasta water to help sauces thicken and cling. I usually do 1.5 liters (about 6.5 cups water). When pasta is al dente, drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid in case you need it to loosen the sauce later. 

Return pasta to pan. All you have to do now is dump in the remaining ingredients! If it is not saucy enough, add more cooking water. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.