Cook the artichoke stems it’s a great way to avoid waste in the kitchen. Often only the hearts of the artichoke are used and therefore today we bring to the table a first course based on artichoke stems, in order to also enhance this part which is often thrown away.

Artichokes: spring treasure

Artichokes are a vegetable whose season runs from March to June. They are rich in proteinsbut also of fibers and are suitable for multiple uses in the kitchen. They are often cooked fried, but also sautéed or stewed. They can accompany second courses or they can become a single dish.
They have a shape similar to a flower and are composed of an upper part, also called heart of the artichokeand from the stem.
The outer leaves of the artichoke are not edible as is the beard found inside. In many recipes only the heart of the artichoke is used, but the stems can be recovered and consumed after removing the outermost bark which is hard and stringy and therefore not edible.

We used artichoke stems to prepare a really tasty and simple to make pasta based on ricotta and walnuts.

Pasta with artichoke stem pesto, ricotta and walnuts: the recipe

Ingredients

• 320 g of short pasta such as fusilloni
• 2 artichoke stems
• 1 shallot
• 100 g of cow’s milk ricotta
• 5 walnuts plus a couple for serving
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Method

1. Clean the artichoke stems: cut the outermost part of the stems and then peel them with a potato peeler to remove the hardest and stringy part. Cut them into cubes.
2. Peel and chop a shallot with a knife. Heat a large pan and brown the shallot with a generous drop of extra virgin olive oil.
3. Also add the artichoke stems and cook until they are soft. If necessary, add a drizzle of water. Season with salt.
4. Place the cooked artichokes in the glass of an immersion blender. Add the ricotta and the shelled walnuts. Blend well and then season with salt and pepper.
5. Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water. Add two ladles of cooking water to the artichoke and ricotta pesto to make it softer and velvety.
6. You do skip the pasta with the artichoke stem pesto and serve with a few pieces of walnut.

Artichoke stem pesto: other uses in the kitchen

Artichoke stem pesto is an excellent condiment for pasta, but can also be served on hot toasted bread, for an unusual and tasty appetizer. For an extra touch, you can also add fresh chili pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil before serving.