Pasta Pomodoro e Carciofo

I have been visiting my family in Germany recently (where I got to spend 3 days in Paris...amazing!), and then when I got back to the Northwest, at work, we were getting ready for the awesome Sock Summit here in Portland! Dublin Bay Knitting Co. had a booth there, and the turn out was fabulous...so so so much fun!

The only down side to all of this knitting awesome time is the fact ever since I got back from my trip, I have had zero time to spend in the kitchen and really cook something! So today was my first real day off, and I went right to New Seasons so simply browse (...yes, I go grocery shopping to browse and look at all of the pretty food!) and get some much needed food inspiration.

That is when I came across this great display of these adorable, cute and colorful cherry tomatoes and I knew I had to use them. Tonight.

The pint of tomatoes I bought were a mixture of local, organic red and yellow cherry tomatoes. Take a peek!


Cute, right?? I really wanted something to show off the great taste of these tiny and flavorful, so I came up with a really simple and fresh recipe for what I am calling Pasta Pomodoro e Carciofo. On a side note, if artichokes are not your thing, I still think this sauce turns out amazingly as a simple pomodoro sauce sans the artichokes!

Here is what you will need:
1 pint of assorted cherry tomatoes, cut in half
5 large cloves of garlic
1 small jar of marinated artichokes
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. bragg's liquid aminos
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. italian seasoning
1/2 pound capellini pasta

Begin with the garlic, and roughly chop them but not very fine. I wanted this to have somewhat a "rustic" feel so large, uneven chunks of garlic are a-ok with me! Drizzle olive oil to coat a large pan with raised edges (as this is the pan that will hold the sauce and pasta). Add garlic and cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until the garlic starts to turn a golden brown color.

As this was cooking, I began to cut my cherry tomatoes into halves, and give my artichokes a rough chop. When your garlic is done, set the pan aside off of the burner to let the oil cook for a minute, then add your halved tomatoes and artichokes.

If you add the tomatoes right away, the juices will mix with the oil and splatter like mad! Believe me....this comes from experience.

As the tomatoes begin to cook down, add the sugar. I find that this small amount of sugar takes away some of the acidity of the tomatoes. Add the Braggs, italian seasoning, and the additional 2 tbsp. of olive oil.

A note about italian seasoning: I got this fabulous seasoning straight from Italy on my trip, But you can make your own! It looks like it contains a mixture of basil. oregano, rosemary, thyme, maybe some marjoram, dried slices of garlic and lots of yummy crushed red pepper flakes.

Even if you have a generic italian seasoning mix at home, it will do, but you will probably have to add the crushed red pepper yourself, as this generally is not a component of the dried italian seasoning mix you buy. If you make the seasoning this way, simply add and adjust the crushed red pepper to your taste.

Let the sauce simmer while you bring your water to a boil for your pasta. I used capellini for this dish, and felt it worked well. Capellini pasta tends to grow and grow when it is cooking, so I suggest 1/2 a pound for the amount of the sauce you are making. If you are planning this for 3 or 4 people, I would double this recipe and make 1 pound of pasta.



Let the pasta cook until it is al dente. Drain and add to your sauce. Mix the sauce around until the pasta is coated, serve and enjoy!