Food Friday: Lemon Artichoke Pasta

So, you know how much I love pasta. I've only mentioned it about a hundred times, right? But sometimes (like in the summer when it's hot), traditional pasta is just too heavy. This doesn't make me happy, because I don't like limitations on my pasta eating.



So, we were browsing through the farmer's market and spotted a stand where they were selling locally made pasta. I've bought Nonna's Noodles before, last fall, but I noticed this time they were selling "Lemon Juice and Zest" linguine. It was hot that day, and it sounded awesome. I thought to myself, "I can definitely do something with this."


I got home, and started perusing my cabinets to see what I had that would go well with the noodles. Of course I had some zucchini (at least, until I killed it all), and I had a can of artichoke hearts. Mmm... it was definitely starting to sound tasty.

I still needed some sort of sauce, though. I didn't want just plain olive oil... I wanted more flavor than that. So, the next time I was at Trader Joe's, I saw that they had Artichoke Lemon Pesto. Oh baby, now we're talkin'!

Now, I realize that not everyone can probably find lemon pasta, or the pesto. I know I have seen lemon pepper fettuccine at the store before, so don't assume you can't find it before you actually look. If you can't find it, I'm sure that plain ol' pasta will work just fine. For the pesto, my suggestion would be to get some fresh basil, olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and some artichoke hearts. Mix it up in a blender with a little salt and pepper (and maybe some garlic), and that's all you'd need to do. Or, I'm sure you can find a recipe online. Save your leftovers and use it to spread on crackers or fresh bread. Mmm.

This turned out super tasty. It was so lemony and fresh. I'll definitely make it again. So, obviously I made this recipe up so I don't have exact quantities. But I'll do my best to give you an idea so you have something to work with.

Lemon Artichoke Pasta

4 oz. linguine or fettuccine (lemon-flavored if you can find it)

1 medium zucchini, sliced

3/4 cup artichoke lemon pesto (this amount is really personal preference)

1 can artichoke hearts, chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 clove garlic

olive oil

salt

pepper

Parmesan cheese

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a saute pan with 1 clove garlic. Add zucchini and dried basil. Salt and pepper to taste. Saute until just barely tender (I prefer my zucchini still a little bit crunchy).

3. When the noodles are finished, drain and add zucchini and artichoke hearts. Keep on low heat until warmed through.

4. Add pesto, toss all together, and serve immediately. Top with Parmesan cheese.