Another Monday, another fabulous pasta.  It’s amazing how some things just never change.

Maybe not change, per se, but we’re both learning just how difficult it is to follow a recipe!  Every fiber of our being wants to add something or change something or tweak something.  Of course, the whole concept of this is for Victor to cook his way through the magazine, following the recipes.  And it’s been wonderful and fabulous eating.  Biut that doesn’t mean it’s been easy.

Case in point…  Tonight, as I was eating the fabulous pasta, I mentioned that kept expecting to get a little hit of peperoncini.  Victor laughed and said he came :::thiiiiiiiis::: close to adding some – but it wasn’t in the recipe.  The dish was wonderful.  I would have added a sprinkling of crushed red peppers if I had been creating it.

But peppers or not, the dish was easy to prepare and tasted fabulous.  Warm homemade bread on the side and it was a meal fit for kings!

Fusilli con Carciofi in Rosso

• ½ Lemon
• 4 Globe Artichokes (about 3 lbs)
• 5 tbls extra virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces flat pancetta or thick cut bacon cut crosswise into 1/8 inch strips
• 1 medium onion roughly chopped
• 3 (14 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice
• Fine sea salt
• 1 lb Fusilli

Approximately 4 – 6 servings.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a bowl of cold water, then drop the lemon into the water.

Cut off artichoke stems and discard. Cut off top inch of 1 artichoke with a serrated knife. Bend outer leaves backward until they snap off close to the base, then discard several more layers of leaves in the same manner until you reach pale yellow leaves with pale green tips. Cut off green tips. Trim dark green fibrous parts from the base and sides of artichoke with a small sharp knife, cut in half lengthwise and cut out purple leaves and fuzzy choke, then thinly slice. Drop slices artichoke into the acidulated water. Repeat with remaining artichokes.

Heat oil in a large high-sided skillet or wide pot over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes more, then drain artichokes, add to pan and stir to combine. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and juices and 1 cup of water to artichoke mixture. Cook at a gently simmer stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until artichokes are tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 35 minutes.

About 15 minutes before sauce is ready, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Stir in ½ teaspoon salt into sauce, then immediately add to pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

We’ve both made dishes similar to this in the past – it’s a really quick and easy pasta style.  But next time, it will have peperoncini.

And I know Lidia would approve.