Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Creamy Artichoke Heart Pasta

1 jar marinated, quartered artichoke hearts
1 bag frozen quartered artichoke hearts, defrosted and ready to use - or - a can or 2 of quartered artichoke hearts (non-marinated).  (You will want to chop these up a little finer than they are.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
1 package egg noodles
Plus:
Things to top it with:  Shredded mozzarella, crushed red pepper, Parmesan cheese (shaved or powdered)


  • Start boiling your noodles. They will take about 7-8 minutes to cook, which is just enough time to make the sauce.
  • In a very large pan, saute onion with olive oil and butter over medium heat.  Cook until onion is translucent.  Add basil.
  • Add the chopped artichoke hearts.  Cook until everything is very hot.
  • Turn off the heat for the sauce.  Add sour cream and cottage cheese.  You can add more or less of these.  You don't have to use all 8 ounces of either of these.
  • Let the sauce get melty and gooey.
  • After your noodles are cooked and drained, put them back into their large pot, and fold the artichoke sauce into them.
  • When you serve them, top with a little mozzarella.   You can use a vegetable peeler to shave Parmesan cheese from a block, or else sprinkle the powdered kind.  Sprinkle crushed red pepper on top, if you like. 
This is one of those recipes that you can + or - any of the ingredients.  If you are crazy about artichoke hearts, add more.  You could double or triple them.  If you want to use low fat dairy products, go ahead.  If you want to cut down on the cottage cheese and sour cream, you can use only 4 ounces each.
I tend to go heavy on the basil, because I love the flavor.  You could also add extra garlic.  When I was still eating meat, I sometimes added little chunks of shredded, cooked chicken.