For this artichoke pasta dish, tiny, tender artichokes are essential, but if you can’t find any, substitute with the best-quality artichoke hearts in oil, drained well and tossed through the cooked pasta and sauce at the end with the torn parsley leaves.
While frilly-edged malfadine pasta works wonderfully here, this indulgent pasta recipe can also be made with pappardelle or fettuccine, offering a variation on texture and shape.
Either way, this dish delivers a beautiful balance of sea and garden, perfect for a sophisticated, yet simple weeknight dinner or special occasion.
Ingredients
- Serves 4
- 14 oz fresh, baby artichokes
- 35 oz fresh clams, scrubbed clean
- Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
- 4 large garlic cloves, sliced or chopped
- 1 bunch flat-leaf cilantro stalks chopped, leaves chopped
- A small glass dry white wine
- 5.3 oz peas, fresh or defrosted frozen
- 12.3 oz dried malfadine pasta
The Homes & Gardens Method
- Put the juice of the lemon together with the squeezed halves into a bowl of cold water.
- Peel the artichokes down to their hearts, paring away any tough outer petals, then slice off the tops, leaving only the tender parts (none should be old enough to have formed a hairy choke in the middle.) Halve any larger ones. Pop the prepared artichokes into the lemon water.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil. Drain the artichokes then simmer for 4-6 minutes, until just tender to the point of a knife. Drain well.
- Sort through the cleaned clams. If there are any that aren’t tightly closed, give them a sharp tap; discard any that don’t close.
- Cook the pasta in boiling water with a good pinch of salt according to pack instructions, until al dente, then drain.
- Meanwhile, put a deep frying pan with a lid (this GreenPan ceramic non-stick pan from Williams Sonoma will work well) on a high heat and, when hot, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the artichokes, garlic, cilantro stalks and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then stir continuously for 2-3 minutes. Just as the garlic starts to colour, add the clams and white wine.
- Give the clam pan a shake, add the peas and put on the lid. After 3-4 minutes the clams will start to open; keep shaking the pan for 3-4 minutes more until all of them have opened. Take the pan off the heat and discard any clams that have remained closed.
- Add the pasta to the pan of clams along with the chopped cilantro leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Stir or toss for a minute to give the pasta a chance to absorb the sauce slightly before serving.
If you love seafood in pasta, try this lobster and squid ink fettuccine, which is a real treat and looks so dramatic on the plate.
