Shiso Artichoke Fettucini - Horinouchi Style

Today's Dish - Shiso & Artichoke Fettucini

One of my favorite recent discoveries, the baby artichoke is very sweet and easy to eat, it's a lot more practical than the adult form when you want to combine artichoke into dishes.  I instantly knew I wanted to make an artichoke pasta today while walking around the Farmers Market, but it wasn't until I found Shiso at the Japanese stand that I thought to combine the two.

Stuffs (for one serving):

8-9 Baby Artichokes

4-5 Oba (large) Shiso leaves (aka Perilla)

2 Large cloves of garlic

1 bunch Komatsuna (aka Japanese Spinach)

1-2 servings of Fettucini

Also: Sea salt, fresh coarse ground pepper, crushed red pepper, extra virgin olive oil, basil and cheese (i used a 3 cheese blend: asiago, parmesan and romano).

Prep:

Chop up the Shiso into thin slivers and dice the garlic into small pieces, but not too small.  Put both aside for later use.  Rinse both artichokes and komatsuna to get rid of any dirt.  

Komatsuna - Chop into thirds, not too small (will shrink when cooked). Put aside for later use.

Boil pasta - Probably around 10 minutes for al dente.

Artichokes - Cut ends and tops off artichokes.

Boil artichokes in plenty of water in a large pot.  Wait until water is completely boiling before throwing the artichokes in. Don't overcook, about 10 minutes should be enough.  When you can poke through the bottom of the artichoke with a chopstick or toothpick with little resistance, they're done.  Drain.

Rinse with cold water so they cool off and to stop internal cooking, and peel off the outer green petals.  When the petals start to turn a yellowish color you can stop.  Split down the middle and make sure there are no thorns attatched to the top of the petals, if there are throns, just grab them with your fingers and yank them out.

Cooking (start with a few min left cooking pasta):

In a regular sized saucepan, heat about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil; sautee the garlic cloves.  When they barely start to brown, but not too much, throw the halved artichokes into the saucepan.  Season with sea salt, coarse ground black pepper (I like a lot!), crushed red pepper and basil.  When artichokes start to brown on the edges, throw in Komatsuna and cook for 30 seconds.  By this time the pasta should be finished, drain, and throw into saucepan with the artichokes.  Toss for a few minutes, add a little more salt if you'd like.

Don't cook too long or else pasta will get too hard, dried out.  Dish onto a large plate, then sprinkle cheese on top, and then sprinkle the Shiso sparingly on top of that.  Done (see top for finished view).

* Charred sections of the artichoke will have a lot of flavor.

* Save the Shiso so you have some for every bite.

* Notice the sweet overtones of artichoke in contrast to everything else.