Pasta With Artichokes and Pancetta

Name: Pasta With Artichokes and Pancetta
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 1 lemon, cut in half; 4 medium artichokes, or 8 to 10 small or baby artichokes; 8 ounces short tubular or corkscrew-shaped pasta; Kosher salt; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed; 6 ounces pancetta, diced; 1 large leek, halved and thinly sliced; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, more for serving; 2 tablespoons dry (white) vermouth or not-too-dry white wine; 2 tablespoons chopped chives; 1/4 cup parsley or mint leaves, chopped; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, more for serving; Fresh lemon juice, for serving

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(562)
Notes: Read community notes

Sautéed artichokes with leeks and pancetta make a hearty, earthy sauce for pasta, brightened by a squeeze of lemon and some herbal dry vermouth. Take care to remove all the tough outer petals of the artichokes; you only want the thinnest, most tender petals to end up in the pan. Bacon avoiders can skip the pancetta. Just use extra olive oil and Parmesan at the end to make up for the missing richness.

Featured in: Diving Into the Artichoke, That Delicious Mess

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Ingredients

Yield:3 to 4 servings

1lemon, cut in half
4medium artichokes, or 8 to 10 small or baby artichokes
8ounces short tubular or corkscrew-shaped pasta
Kosher salt
1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
6ounces pancetta, diced
1large leek, halved and thinly sliced
½teaspoon ground black pepper, more for serving
2tablespoons dry (white) vermouth or not-too-dry white wine
2tablespoons chopped chives
¼cup parsley or mint leaves, chopped
¼cup grated Parmesan cheese, more for serving
Fresh lemon juice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Squeeze one lemon half into a large bowl of cold water. Pluck off all tough leaves from one artichoke, until you reach leaves that are pale and soft. Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel stem and trim base of artichoke, then dunk it in lemon water to keep it from browning. Cut off the top ⅓ of artichoke and discard. Cut artichoke in half; remove any inner purple leaves and scoop out the fuzzy choke if there is one. Thinly slice artichoke lengthwise to include some of the heart. Put slices in the lemon water and leave them there as you cut remaining artichokes.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, then cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain.
Step 3
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in pancetta and cook until browned and crispy, stirring occasionally, 8 to 12 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate; leave fat in pan.
Step 4
Drain the artichokes, shaking them well to remove excess water. Raise heat under pan to medium-high, and stir in artichokes, leeks, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and cook until golden brown and tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and stir in vermouth, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet.
Step 5
Stir in cooked pasta, pancetta, chives and parsley. If the mixture seems dry, add pasta water, a little at a time. Stir in more salt to taste, Parmesan and lemon juice to taste.
Step 6
Transfer to serving plates and top with a drizzle of oil, more black pepper, and more grated cheese.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

562 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Kathleen Nagro6 years ago

any chance one could use canned or frozen artichokes?

Ann Possis6 years ago

How heinous of a culinary crime would it be to use canned artichokes? I think I'd be much more likely to make it... :)

Rydell6 years ago

I just couldn’t see myself doing the prep work with fresh artichokes so used frozen artichoke hearts and this pasta dish was delicious. Definitely a keeper of a recipe.

Carol Sacks6 years ago

I made this dish this evening and it's delicious. If you were to use frozen or canned artichokes, you'd need to cook the leek on its own (and do brown it; gives the dish a lot of flavor) and add the artichokes at the end of cooking. I used raw artichokes and even sliced very thin, they cooked for about 10 minutes before they became lightly-browned and tender. And, don't skimp on the lemon juice; really makes the flavors pop.

Susan Horovitz6 years ago

Very good. I used frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe’s, sliced. I added more olive oil than the 1 tablespoon per the recipe and probably closer to 1/4 cup vermouth. I recommend adding the chives, mint and lemon juice as that is really what makes the dish pop. Could be vegetarian but I would suggest substituting pancetta with some browned breadcrumbs for the crunch.

Kay6 years ago

I realize this is a cowardly question but could one use artichoke hearts instead? Or would they not hold up in the skillet browning?

.6 years ago

Just had a version of this prepared by an 80 year old Italian friend in Tuscany who used to cook in her own restaurant. It was delicious; no pancetta and she would be shocked by the addition of Parmesan.

Wordsworth from Wadsworth6 years ago

I have used frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe's in pasta dishes. The cleaning and freezing process makes them more tractable, easy, and tender. You just have to guesstimate on the right amount of boiling/steaming. However, call first and see if they have them.

lynn rogers5 years ago

GREAT recipe. Fresh, canned or frozen artichokes dilemma: I live near the so-called "Artichoke Capital of the World" in N. Cali and have access to fresh 'chokes all year around. There's really no comparison between the flavor/texture of fresh artichokes and the alternatives -they are really different. BUT having cleaned a zillion 'chokes, I say ... just go with what you can (TJs frozen is my next bet): different flavor but still good so ... go for it if that is what will work. Enjoy!

bacongougere6 years ago

I doubled the recipe because I wanted leftovers and wanted this to be an easy weeknight dinner. Trader Joe's to the rescue. A bag of their fancy gigli pasta (17.6 oz), 3 containers of diced pancetta, 1 12 oz. bag of frozen artichoke hearts. I did add about 1/2 C chicken stock to loosen the sauce a little bit. Forgot the mint, but had added a bunch of thyme (because I'm apparently incapable of not adding thyme to everything). By the way, this makes a delicious pasta frittata.

Kevin O.5 years ago

This is excellent! I used one can of quartered artichoke hearts. Cooked the leeks for 6 minutes then added the artichokes to lightly brown. Worked fine and much easier then prepping fresh artichokes. Love this!

Ricardo6 years ago

Great complex flavors, fresh artichokes are the way to go, if in season. A melon baller makes short work out of cleaning the hairy choke! No more troublesome than prepping winter squash, add more exotic.

Philip5 years ago

I wondered what I was going to do with a 60 oz. jar of artichoke halves I picked up at Costco. I then made this recipe. Absolutely delicious! Didn’t change a thing other than using fresh parsley instead on mint. I could not stop eating it. Luckily I have plenty more artichokes left in the jar to make this again! This is a keeper.

Jay6 years ago

This is a somewhat over-detailed recipe, but the results are really delicious even in my compromised version of it. I used frozen artichoke hearts. Preparing artichokes for a dish like this is more work than I care to bother with (but it’s a different matter with large artichokes served as a separate course). I also used freeze-dried chives. One can make only so many trips to the grocery store for an appetizer. Pancetta adds a lot to the flavor mix, but I’d use blanched bacon if I had to.

Figaro6 years ago

This is a gorgeous recipe! Re artichokes, I've gotten lazy in my dotage so I use baby marinated artichoke hearts in just about every thing calling for artichokes. They never have tough leaves, their flavor is wonderful and the marinade is a yummy liquid additive. I buy pancetta from my super market deli, sliced ¼" thick, separated by waxed paper or plastic wrap you can freeze it and have it on hand for any recipe. We're having this for dinner tonight.

Julie2 days ago

YUM! Used canned marinated artichokes, added roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes and GF noodles. Will definitely make again.

Iona3 months ago

Used canned artichokes. Used the quartered artichokes, about a can and a half. Saved some work. They are a bit more delicate. I drained and dried them on paper towels before cooking. It tasted great.

Julie Logue-Riordan5 months ago

I made this exactly per the recipe and was disappointed. It was bland we added some chili oil to perk it up.

Heather6 months ago

Delicious! Frozen artichokes work just fine. Baby Swiss chard added just the right amount of tang.

mll6 months ago

Breaking News...Whole Foods now sells artichoke heart chunks in the produce section that make this recipe so easy.

cindy7 months ago

Forgot to get artichokes so used frozen peas instead. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Also added garlic, duh. Substituted some dried tarragon for parsley.

T. Smith1 year ago

Ok, I’ll say it. You should reduce the pancetta. I love pancetta, but if you’re going to take the trouble to trim fresh artichokes then you don’t want them overpowered. As written this is 2 thick slices of pancetta per serving, I’d do it with half that next time. The herbs are listed as 1/4c parsley or mint, but that much mint alone again would be excessive. On the on the other hand, mint is a nice accompaniment to artichokes. I used about 3/4 parsley and 1/4 mint and that worked well.

mapleavenuecrowd1 year ago

Made this for Friday night supper with friend. Used frozen artichokes cooked frozen according to directions on the package. Used gnocchi because I had some homemade. I would use pasta next time as directed. The gnocchi don’t provide an appropriate texture. The report was this is a winner so keep it in the repertoire, but with a spiral pasta.

Richard N1 year ago

I made this tonight as written and it was surreal. So flavorful and creamy. Take the time to get the pancetta crisp and the leeks browned.

Carol B.1 year ago

I made this with fresh artichokes but I didn’t trim them well enough and there were lots of tough bits throughout the dish! Luckily my husband and I were the only ones eating it so we could pick the sharp parts of the artichoke out of our mouths without offending anyone. I guess I need a lesson on how to trim down an artichoke! Next time, I will be using frozen or canned hearts or bottoms. It was none the less very delicious.

Rebecca1 year ago

This is a super weeknight dinner - I used 4 oz diced pancetta (cause that’s how much was in the package) and a small package of frozen artichokes. Very forgiving recipe. It only served two people - me and my hungry 22 year old son.

RomyO1 year ago

Made this pretty much following the recipe as provided, though I used artichokes from an Italian company packed in water and oil mix and it turned out well! All guests raved about the flavor. Easy to make and will be repeated soon!

tdlp1 year ago

Do yourself a favorite and use a jar of artichoke hearts. I spent so long prepping the artichokes only to be disappointed with how fibrous the few leaves I left on were. I cannot imagine there being an impact on the overall recipe using a jarred/canned. Also I added some frozen peas which I’d do again.

KML1 year ago

Made this 4 times. Follow recipe. I always add toasted pinenuts.

Beth Ann1 year ago

I used a jar of artichokes in water to save time and it was great! I might add toasted panko breadcrumbs next time for some texture, but I will definitely be making this again.

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